Halo: The Ori War
by DX1998
Summary: 7 Months Ago...the USS Odyssey vanished without a trace. Seven long months, that saw the Ori march almost unopposed through the Milky Way Galaxy. With none able to stand against them, the armies of Origin were triumphant in all battles. But now...now the Odyssey has returned, and with the aid of the UNSC and Sangheili, they will bring the fight to the Ori.
1. Arc 1: Return

**AN: Evidently I was so eager to post I forgot the AN :P**

**Anyway, here we are with the sequel to the ever-popular _A Change of Fate._ I know people were looking forward to this, and I hope I didn't disappoint! :D**

* * *

**1600 Hours, December 20th, 2007 (Military Calendar)-Estimated Time/**

**USS _Odyssey_, Tollana**

* * *

Desolate...that would be the only word that could truly describe the second homeworld of the Tollan race. Long since destroyed by the forces of the Goa'uld Anubis, there was not one sign of life on its charred and cratered surface. Nor were there any ships in the world's orbit...merely silvery debris of the Tollan evacuation craft. For all that race's advancements, their ship design had stagnated...and they had paid the price. It was because of this desolation, that Tollana had basically dropped off the galactic radar. The Ori cared nothing for an empty world, the few surviving Goa'uld were more interested in hiding, and anything that could be stripped from the world had long-ago been taken by the likes of the Lucian Alliance.

All of this combined to make it the perfect place for the _Odyssey_ to finally return home. And because of that simple fact...the desolate world finally saw activity, activity unknown to any in the Stargate Universe. A massive black hole in space opened up, only a light blue rim showing where it ended. Out of this hole, came the UNSC Expeditionary Fleet...with the USS _Odyssey_ at it's head. The substantial fleet, nearly one hundred strong, exited the Slipspace portal and immediately began taking up defensive formations. The moment the last ship, a Sangheili frigate, exited the portal the massive hole closed up. Until the fleet could make a new portal themselves...they were now stranded in the new universe.

"Back home..." Cameron Mitchell muttered, "...I really don't feel any different. We sure that worked?"

Samantha Carter looked over the readings from the Asgard sensors, "Yes, we are. I'm detecting residual traces of Goa'uld weapons fire on the planet. Couple that with Tollan ruins...and that's definitely Tollana below us."

"So desolate..."one of the UNSC crew muttered, "Was it glassed?"

"No," Sam shook her head, "Not in the sense that the Covenant would do it. The result might as well be the same though..."

What was left unsaid, was that barring any successful evacuations, Anubis _had_ pulled off a genocide of the Tollan people.

_"This is Commodore Keyes,"_ a voice came over from the _Pillar of Autumn_, _"Are we secure here?"_

For the first time in awhile, the _Odyssey's_ powerful subspace scanners were once more put to their intended use. Scanning several lightyears around Tollana, they looked for any sign of Ori warships. Ha'tak, were there any, would be glossed over. The Lucians were no threat to _this_ fleet.

"We should be," the blonde replied after a few minutes, "No sign of any Ori warships within a ten light-year radius of the system."

_"Your sensors never cease to amaze me,"_ this time it was Cortana, the AI sounding somewhat jealous.

"Thank Thor," Daniel Jackson spoke up, a slight smile on his face.

_"Oh I have. Many times, but he still refuses to let me study them,"_ if an AI could sound put-out, Cortana managed it.

_"Enough chatter," _Keyes barked, _"If we are secure, the fleet will begin salvaging what we can from Tollana. We need all the materials we can get. Fleetmaster, would you be so kind as to scout the system for anything the _Odyssey_ may have missed?"_

_"It shall be done,"_ a thump announced Nar 'Saranee slamming his fist into his chest in a Sangheili salute, before a handful of Covenant frigates broke formation and began heading further into the Tollana system.

_"And General Landry?"_ the Commodore asked, _"Can you contact Earth?"_

Landry looked at his resident genius. Sam just shook her head slowly, before tapping at her console.

"Nothing is wrong with the subspace array," the blonde reported, "Kalymia confirms from the Core. Whatever the issue is...it's on their end, not ours."

Those words were like a knife to the hearts of SG-1 and their commanding officer. The _only_ way that Earth wouldn't respond to their message was if it had been attacked, or the 'Gate had been compromised in some manner. That would necessitate the destruction of the SGC, and by extension, the subspace array on Earth. Logically, if they were unable to connect...one of those had happened. They could only hope that it wasn't the case and the array was just being repaired.

That was a lot easier to stomach than the idea that Earth was compromised...because they had been on a jaunt in the Forerunner Universe, as it had begun to be called. If Earth was lost because the Asgard Legacy couldn't be delivered in time...

No.

_We can't think that way,_ Landry mused, forcing his thoughts away from the ever-present worry, _Even if Earth has fallen, we have more than enough forces to retake it. The Ori are strong, but they lack in numbers. We can beat them._

_"Is it possible this is a glitch in the system?"_ Keyes asked.

"Perhaps," Sam answered, "but I don't know. I don't have enough data to say."

A flash of light deposited Keyes aboard the _Odyssey's_ bridge after the Colonel finished that statement. The man was always a more 'hands-on' type, and had evidently decided to take matters into his own hands. Or at least beam over to reduce the risk of any messages being intercepted by anyone. That too.

Giving a look at the blonde Colonel, Keyes got her to move. While not as smart as his daughter or former lover, Commodore Jacob Keyes was not an idiot by anyone's definition either. He looked over the sensor readings, muttering slightly as his sharp eyes examined everything they said. In particular, a group of signatures not that far from Tollana.

"I thought you said we were alone?" Keyes asked.

Sam shook her head, "No, I said there are no Ori warships within ten light-years. Those are naquadah signatures."

"Ah...Ha'tak, correct?"

"Ha'tak, Al'kesh, Tel'tak," Teal'c spoke up, "Any option is possible. However, we have no way to confirm whom the ships belong to. They may be Free Jaffa, my people. They may be remnants of the Goa'uld. They may be Lucian Alliance."

"And as we don't want to be discovered, we should probably keep an eye on them," the Commodore finished.

"Indeed."

Turning away from the Jaffa, Keyes looked up at his SGC counterpart. Landry returned the look with a raised eyebrow, curious what he was going to be asked. Keyes just frowned slightly.

"If we are unable to contact Earth," and didn't those words hurt...it wasn't _his_ Earth, but it was Earth nonetheless, "are there any other allies we may be able to make contact with?"

"The Tok'ra, the Jaffa," Cameron Mitchell answered, "I'd expect them to ignore us though. No offensive to T, but the Jaffa have never rubbed me the right way. Tok'ra are probably hiding as usual."

The dark-skinned Jaffa merely raised an eyebrow, "Indeed."

"But, the Orbanians are an option. Might be a couple other out there too...we never did find the Furlings," Cam continued.

"Furlings?" Keyes asked dubiously.

"Funny name aside," Daniel explained, "you've seen what our Asgard technology can do, correct?"

"Yes. Nearly the equal of the Forerunner, if not better in some areas."

"Well, the Furlings are one of four races...the Ancients, Asgard, and Nox being the others. That implies their technology is at least on par with, or perhaps more advanced than, the Asgard," the archeologist explained, "They are also the only one of the Four Great Races we've never once encountered. The Ancients ascended to another plane of existence, the Asgard as you know are gone aside from the minds in our Core, and the Nox are pacifists...though I imagine we could make contact with them too."

Keyes nodded thoughtfully. While he didn't expect these 'Nox' to help, pacifists being what they were, it certainly couldn't hurt to get more support. There was an ongoing argument amongst the Asgard as to if they should use Replicator- or at least android -bodies themselves, and so long as that was happening the little fellows wouldn't be any help. However, a race that has technology at _least_ as good as the miracle working tech on the _Odyssey_...well, that could be useful. Especially considering the fact that if the Ori brought in more forces, the UNSC/Covenant force could quickly find itself overmatched.

Not least, because until they could make a relay back to their home universe the fleets were on their own. They couldn't just 'phone home' for reinforcements. Every ship was irreplaceable...and they needed whatever support they could find. The Jaffa were numerous, but technologically weak...nothing they had could hurt the Ori. SGC warships were easily upgraded to the standard of the _Odyssey_, aside from its ZPM. But there were only a handful of them...presuming they hadn't been lost in an attack on Earth.

"I'll dispatch scouts at once," the Commodore spoke up, "have the Asgard ever given any indication on where the Furlings may be?"

"No," Daniel looked visibly unhappy about that, "We've asked before, but they don't know anymore than we do. All we know is what was Nox and Ancient territory. We just haven't had enough scouts to search the 'missing' areas."

Considering the SGC got tossed into a massive war when they finally had more than one spaceship...that wasn't surprising. The Fleet had come through with a handful of Prowlers though, and scouting missions were their forte. Might as well make use of a couple.

"Send the data to Cortana, and we can move from there," Keyes said, before the console started beeping, "Colonel Carter?"

Sam moved past the older man, and started reading the readouts. Her eyes narrowed slightly, before taking on a confused look.

"We have an Asgard hyperdrive signature approaching," the blonde said, "Since there aren't any Asgard left that has to be a 304...but how did they find us so soon..."

Before she could say anything else, a hyperspace window opened up near to the _Odyssey_, and spat out a near-clone of the dimension jumping warship. 'Near' because it was clearly modified. New turrets were scattered across its hull, and patches of Ha'tak armor were grafted to the vessel. In addition, one of its hangars had been heavily damaged...it was clearly sealed off, with more Ha'tak armor. The ship looked nothing more than a patchwork vessel, barely holding together.

And then there was the question of _which_ 304 this one was.

_"This is Commander Cheng of the _Sun Tzu_,"_ an accented voice came over the communications net, _"am I correct to assume you are the USS _Odyssey_?"_

"Yes, you are correct," Landry spoke up.

"_Sun Tzu?" _Daniel asked, unfamiliar with the ship.

"It was scheduled to be launched a few months after we left for Ida," Sam explained, "I'm worried about that damage..."

_"That is good to hear,"_ Cheng, her voice tinged with relief, continued, "_however, I am curious just where you have been. It has been seven months since you left for Ida. And I am equally curious where you gained so many_ _followers."_

"That's a very long story," Landry answered, "Perhaps it is best if you beam over?"

_"Very well."_

* * *

**Meeting Room**

* * *

A meeting room had quickly been prepared while Commander Cheng integrated her ship with the fleet at large. Fleetmaster 'Saranee had been recalled as well, and now stood resplendent in the red armor he stubbornly stuck to wearing. Teal'c stood next to the massive reptilian, deep in a discussion about military tactics and Sangheili society. It was the first time the Jaffa had a chance to interact with a member from a society so, outwardly, similar to his own. The discussion would have to be cut short though, as the flash and chime of Asgard beaming announced the arrival of the Chinese officer.

The first thing Cheng did was salute Landry, as the ranking SGC officer.

"Commander Daiyu Cheng reporting General," the woman said, military precision intact despite the frayed appearance of her uniform.

"At ease Commander," Landry replied, after he returned the salute, "It's good to see a friendly face."

The woman sagged slightly in relief, "It's better for me, trust me General. We've been running for so long that I forgot what it was like."

After saying that, Cheng's eyes started to roam the room, clearly trying to pick out how many of the _Odyssey_ crew were present. She nodded politely at SG-1, had a curious look at Keyes' uniform, and then...reached Nar. The petite woman's eyes widened to almost comical proportions as she took in the massive pillar of muscle and red armor standing next to the familiar Jaffa.

Not that one could blame her. The Stargate Universe had nothing quite like the Sangheili, aside from maybe the Unas and even _they_ were somewhat humanoid. Seeing a Sangheili for the first time would be a shock to anyone really.

"And that is one of our new allies," Landry spoke up, as the silence began to get a bit awkward, "Fleetmaster Nar 'Saranee of the Sangheili."

"And I am Commodore Jacob Keyes of the United Nations Space Command," Keyes added.

Tearing her eyes away from the imposing Elite, Cheng looked at the human in a strange uniform, "United Nations...I am unfamiliar with any organization tied to the UN."

"That would be because I am not from your universe," Keyes explained.

"Not from our Univer..." the Chinese officer repeated, "You have been in an alternate dimension?"

Landry nodded, and began explaining just _where_ the _Odyssey_ had been for the past months. The tale of the dying days of the Human-Covenant War had Cheng grimacing for the majority of it. It wasn't every day that you heard an alternate Humanity had been pushed so close to the edge of extinction...despite having so many worlds to call home. Despite having a space fleet that, while strangely obsolete in ways, made the SGC's pitiful efforts look like child's play. And then there was the Covenant itself...the Ori, as bad as they may be, were not outright genocidal with the one exception being the Goa'uld. Who, honestly, _everyone_ wanted dead.

Having a member of said Covenant, former or not, standing across from her did freak out the Chinese woman somewhat. But SG-1 had a reputation, and if _they_ trusted the Sangheili...she could too. After all, the _Sun Tzu_ needed any help it could reasonably get.

"I've told you our story," Landry finished, "What about you Commander? I can't help but notice the condition your ship is in."

Cheng grimaced, "It is hard to not notice General. We have been fighting and running from the Ori for three months now. After...after Earth fell."

Not one member of the meeting didn't show a reaction to that statement. Nar bowed his head silently, still sending a silent prayer to the Forerunner for the souls of the Reclaimers who surely perished. In the shadows where she was recording the meeting, Grieving Light's eye dulled...her name suddenly becoming true. The humans had the most noticeable reactions, of course. Landry shook his head slowly, before placing a hand over his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. Keyes snapped the pencil he was holding.

Sam felt tears in her eyes, as Daniel took his glasses off to wipe his own eyes.

Cam cursed, "Damn it! How did the Ori get through Antartica?"

"We ran out of drones," Cheng replied simply, "They killed Ori ships, which is more than can be said for anything else we have...even the salvaged Ion Cannons the remnants of the Tollan gave me."

"The Tollan?" Sam asked, getting her mind off her worry, _Jack..._

The Chinese woman nodded, "Yes. A few ships got past Anubis. They are settled nearby, rebuilding what they can...only the remnants of our military knows the Tollan exist. Neither the Tok'ra nor the Jaffa have been informed...to keep them safe from the Ori or Lucian Alliance."

"As good of news as that is," Keyes spoke up...perhaps the least effected of the human group because of his distance from _this_ Earth, "you ran out of 'drones'? And they were capable of killing Ori motherships? I was under the impression that only the Asgard weaponry aboard the _Odyssey_ could do that?"

"Drones are an Ancient weapon," Cheng explained, "Golden squid-like missiles. The Antarctic Outpost, left behind by the Ancients, had enough to destroy several Ori motherships. But not enough...not enough to save Earth. The _Sun Tzu_ carried the last evacuees from Earth, even though we were not fully ready for battle. Those refuges are on Neo Tollan right now...safe from the Ori. We have been attempting to interdict supply shipments and rescue more survivors from Earth ever since. That is why my warship is so damaged."

While Keyes would have liked to know more about these 'drones' it wasn't the time or the place. Right now, he moved back to his seat. The humans who had a greater stake in this Earth, SG-1, moved forward. They had varying expressions on their faces...though all clearly reflected worry. Not that the Commodore could blame them. He would be acting the exact same way, were it _his_ Earth that had been taken.

They had even more right to be worried, considering it was the _Odyssey_'s vanishing into his universe that had lead to this. If Earth had received the Asgard Legacy, they might have been able to fight back better. As much as it seemed callous, Keyes was still happy they had shown up over Sigma Octanus though.

That was neither here nor there however.

"How many got out?" Daniel asked softly.

Cheng grimaced again, "I don't know. The SGC evacuated as many to the Alpha and Beta Sites as they could, but it can't have been more than a few hundred before the 'Gate was compromised. I myself have rescued one thousand mixed civilians and military personnel. The _Apollo_ rescued just as many, before they were sent to Pegasus...to protect Atlantis as the 'ultimate fall-back point'."

Only three thousand or so...out of the billions of lives on Earth. SG-1 collapsed into their seats, aside from Sam Carter.

"What about General Hammond? General O'Neill?" she asked.

"General Hammond died defending the Pentagon," Cheng replied softly, "The last I have heard, General O'Neill is leading the resistance movements in North America. I can't say for sure if he still lives...I have not been to Earth in over a month."

Now it was Sam's turn to collapse into a chair. Hammond...dead? Jack possibly dead? It was one thing to know that Earth had fallen. Another to hear what had happened to the leaders of her Stargate program. It was not a good thing to hear...not at all.

With the SGC group working through their shock, Keyes once again took command, "Commander? If Earth has fallen and the Tollan are small in number, who are you working with?"

"The Jaffa, primarily," Cheng answered, "I've...gained some measure of respect, even from the hardliners, for taking command after my Captain's death and fighting the Ori for so long. The Tau'ri in general have gained respect...for fighting to the end, and beyond. There aren't many Free Jaffa world's left though. Mostly small outposts that have stayed under the Ori's radar. Dakara, Chulak, Delmak, all the major worlds are occupied or destroyed."

"The Tok'ra?"

"I don't know. We have maintained contact with their new homeworld, safely hidden from even me. But the Tok'ra have been of little use in this war," the woman replied, a hint of bitterness to her tone, "They don't have ships unlike the Jaffa. And the Ori can easily detect a symbiote...I doubt there are more than a handful of Goa'uld left. That's left the Tok'ra unable to do anything but hide and wait the war out."

_The cowards..._Cheng mentally added, even if it wasn't really fair.

"So we're basically on our own then," the Commodore mused.

"Yes," the Commander agreed, "but I have hope now. Your fleet...surely you can win against the Ori?"

Keyes coughed, "I would like to say so, however aside from the _Odyssey_ we primarily use upgraded Goa'uld and Tollan technology."

He didn't mention the UNSC's homegrown MAC weaponry, because it was anyone's guess how they would work against the Ori. Literally, considering the best indication they had of a physical impact's effect on the monstrously powerful ships was Bra'tac's kamikaze with a Ha'tak. Not exactly the same, as a barraged of multi-hundred ton shells. The Covenant weapons were a different story though.

_Those_ weapons, probably had plenty of potential to ruin the Ori's day. Especially the Energy Projector, which by all indications was at _least_ as powerful as an Ori weapon. So yeah, they probably had a better chance than anyone else who had fought the Ori, especially with the fact that once the _Sun Tzu_ could be refit to the _Odyssey's_ standard- something that wouldn't take long with a UNSC mobile drydock in the fleet -they would have two updated 304s and the _Ecumene_ to fight with.

All that being said, Keyes wasn't one to get someone's hopes up pointlessly. Better to play it safe, and see just _how_ well they fought against the Ori.

"Still, any help is welcome," Cheng continued, "we have been fighting alone for far too long..."

As the woman finished that sentence, alarms began blaring through the meeting room. Landry was on his feet quickly, moving to a communication panel on the wall.

"Report," the General barked out.

_"Six Ha'tak-class motherships have dropped out of hyperspace,"_ Commander Henry White, the man in charge of the UNSC segment of the _Odyssey's_ crew reported.

"Six Ha'tak are hardly something to worry about..." Cam said, "Especially with how many ships we have."

_"That's the thing Colonel,"_ White obviously overheard that statement, _"Their power readings are off the charts for what we, or rather _you_ know of Ha'tak. Even the Anubis variant is weaker. Their armor is silver in addition, not gold. I can't get an exact read on shields or weaponry."_

As those words left the Commander's mouth, Cheng paled in the background, "Oh no..."

"Did you not tell us something?" Landry asked, rounding on the paling woman.

"I...didn't have the chance," the Chinese woman replied, "The...Lucian Alliance fell to the Ori some time ago. Those who weren't killed, switched sides. Their Ha'tak have been upgraded with Ori technology. Nothing on the big motherships, but they are far more powerful than a Jaffa Ha'tak. Even an Anubis one isn't as strong."

_Well, _that_, could be a problem..._ Cam mused.

"Damn," Landry succinctly said, "okay then...get back to the _Sun Tzu,_ Commander. Stay at the rear...you're in no condition to fight. Commodore, Fleetmaster, I believe we should ready the fleets. This will be our first test against Ori technology...even dumbed down Ori technology."

Keyes nodded, while Nar thumped his chest. The two vanished, along with Cheng, in Asgard beams. They had a battle to fight...and damn it, they _would fight it_.

* * *

**AN: Yeah, Earth fell. Thing is, without the upgrades what could do they realistically do? Antartica was never going to last forever. Makes for a more dramatic story anyway! ;)**


	2. Arc 1: Return to War

**AN: Wow...that's all I can say...**

**Wow. I was not expecting 59 reviews, certainly not so quickly and not for just the first chapter! Thank you everyone! :D**

**I hope I can keep the interest going!**

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**1800 Hours, December 20th, 2007 (Military Calendar)/**

**USS _Odyssey_, Tollana**

* * *

The fleets in orbit of Tollana began to condense, as the fading hyperspace windows in front of them finally vanished. The _Phoenix_ class colony ships moved to the rear, with the damaged _Sun Tzu_ joining them. The Covenant frigates formed up in a circle around the ships, almost like an old time defense against a raid on an American trail. Past the frigates, the UNSC destroyers formed the second line, their powerful Goa'uld shields and double MAC cannons ready and waiting. Beyond them, the rest of the fleet moved into their standard formations, MACs and plasma banks charging.

Naturally, the _Odyssey_ and _Ecumene_, as the most powerful warships in the fleets, were at the forefront. Aboard the bridge of the former, the crew looked out at the Ha'tak approaching warily. At least, the SGC group did. The UNSC crew, and Kalmiya for that matter, had no real idea of how big the difference between _these_ Ha'tak, and a standard one were. To SG-1, who had been on and destroyed more Ha'tak than anyone in the Galaxy...it was a lot more sobering. And worrying, for that matter.

"Sam?" Cameron Mitchell asked, as he took his seat at the secondary weapons station.

Samantha Carter bit her lip, looking over the sensor readings, "Commander Cheng was telling the truth. While it is noticeably weaker than an Ori Mothership, there are definitely Ori power readings coming from those Ha'tak. No Goa'uld signatures at all in fact...shields and weapons are both Ori."

"Not to mention they clearly redesigned them," Cam muttered, "And I thought the Goa'uld were gaudy."

Hard to dispute that point, when the approaching ships were almost blindingly silver. Not one trace of Goa'uld black and gold remained on those ships...just Ori silver. On the Ha'tak, it just looked _wrong_. Corrupted, somehow.

"Can we handle them?" Daniel Jackson asked, strapping himself in...he may be better with guns than he once was, but this was still out of his depth.

"_We_ can, without issue probably," Sam replied, not sounding cocky in the slightest...merely confident in her ship, "The Asgard weapons can handle an Ori Mothership. I doubt they gave the Lucians anything resembling that much power."

"But it's not _us_ you're worried about?" Vala Mal Doran asked, a slight bit of fear in her voice. Not that one could blame her...she knew, better than anyone, what an Ori weapon could do to Goa'uld shields. After all, she had seen it from _their_ side.

The blonde genius nodded, "Yeah. I don't know how well the UNSC and Covenant ships can handle this."

"Well, we'll find out won't we?" Cam asked, as the Ha'tak began to approach.

Before anyone could reply to that comment, the first of the Ha'tak began contacting the fleets. When the message came through, the sight greeting them was rather surprising. There was a _Prior_ on the bridge of the Ha'tak. The highest servants of the Ori would normally only serve on a Mothership. Either they were getting cocky, or they trusted the Lucian converts too much. The former was more likely...the Priors had proven to be quite smart, regardless of their religious mania. They likely put the Prior there to make sure their technology wasn't misused.

Like the Asgard had done with the 304s...but much less benevolent.

_"Greetings,"_ the Prior began, _"Welcome home, General Landry, Colonel Carter, Colonel Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, Teal'c, and Daniel Jackson. Have you returned, with new friends, to embrace Origin at last?"_

"Of course not," Landry replied.

The Prior's milky-white face showed no emotion, _"A pity. All who refuse Origin will be cleansed by the Holy Light of the Ori. Surely you do not believe that these holy vessels are the same as the False Gods?"_

"I'd be worried if they were," Cam quipped, "You'd be slipping!"

_"I see you have made your choice."_

The Prior's face vanished, as the Ha'tak began to move forward even faster than the Goa'uld standard.

"Well, I think we made him mad," the Colonel said.

"What gave it away?" Sam replied, "Permission to engage?"

Landry nodded, "All weapons, fire at will. I would suggest you do the same, Commodore, Fleetmaster."

_"Pillar of Autumn will lead the attack," _Keyes nodded slightly.

_"We will burn _them_ with righteous fire,"_ Nar added.

The combined fleet moved forward, as the Ori ships split into two formations of three Ha'tak each. The first group targeted the _Odyssey_, unsurprisingly, and the _Ecumene._ The second attempted to use their maneuverability, further enhanced over even the already fighter-esque agility of a regular Ha'tak, to hit the colony ships. Blue bolts of energy lanced from the Ha'tak, quite unlike the regular gold that the UNSC used. Nor were they Tollan weaponry, as the first blasts began to blossom against the equally blue shield of the 304.

The ship shook slightly under the impacts, as Sam's eyes roved over her console, absorbing every bit of data she could. As the Ha'tak moved aside to flank the rapidly maneuvering _Odyssey_, the blonde genius turned to Landry.

"Shields holding at 90%," she said without preamble, "Those are the secondary weapons off an Ori Mothership sir. If we were in a Ha'tak, or the _Prometheus_, we'd be dead now."

As the _Odyssey_ shook from another blow, Landry's eyebrow went up, "And they only took _ten percent_ off our shield?"

"The Huragok modified the shield in ways that stumped _Thor_, sir," Sam replied, "I doubt anything but a Mothership can hurt us in one hit now."

"Hmm..., well, let's see how they like _our_ weapons."

"One spit-roasted Ha'tak, comin up!" Cam whooped, as his hands danced along the controls.

Four lances of blue plasma flew forth from the _Odyssey's_ bow, impacting the lead Ha'tak. A silver barrier, clearly Ori in origin, shot to life around the ship. The pyramid space craft took the first bolt without losing its shield, but the second put too much strain on it. The third burned through the shield, and pierced the secondary hull of the Ha'tak. The fourth cleaved through its main hull, narrowly missing the reactor. The Ha'tak attempted to maneuver behind its undamaged counterparts, but a MAC shell from the _Pillar of Autumn_ put an end to _that_ plan.

The shell hit the Ha'tak dead center, crumpling as it was designed to do. The effect was not unlike a shotgun blast at close range...as pieces of the shell spread throughout the Ha'tak's hull. A second shell added to the carnage, leaving the Ha'tak riddled with holes...before an Archer missile barrage pierced its reactor.

As the ship went up in a massive fireball, the _Autumn_ turned to helping the Covenant, while the _Ecumene_ began to focus fire with the _Odyssey_ on a second Ori Ha'tak.

_"I believe we should split our fire,"_ Grieving Light spoke up, as her ship's golden shield easily took the Ori fire. Forerunner weapons fire lashed back, pounding the Ha'tak mercilessly, its shield quickly failing under the strain of equally advanced weaponry.

"Indeed," Teal'c said, as the _Odyssey_ switched to the last of their enemy group.

More blue beams lanced out, each targeted precisely and accurately. The Ori-modified vessel was absurdly maneuverable, but even it wasn't as agile as the _Odyssey_. The 304 flared its thrusters, matching the Ha'tak move for move, as blue beams and bolts flew back and forth. After a couple minutes of pounding, however, the enemy vessel flew apart in a massive fireball. The other Ori ship soon joined it, albeit less spectacularly. The hardlight weapons of the _Ecumene_ simply vaporized the tough naquadah armor in an orange flash.

With one group down, the ships were ready to join the rest of the fleet in hitting the other one...only for a flash of light to come from a different direction.

The UNSC destroyer _Silent Night_, its shield grid collapsing under concentrated fire, blew apart.

"Damn it!" Cam cursed, "The shields aren't good enough!"

"We always knew that might happen," Sam muttered, a sad tone to her voice.

"Focus fire on the Ha'tak!" Landry overrode everything, "We can't let them hit the colony ships."

There wasn't any argument there, as a Covenant destroyer moved to close the cap the _Silent Night_ left in the line. The Covenant's silver shield, so similar to the Ori's, took the fire they directed at it admirably. The same could not be said for one of the Ha'tak. Its crew eager to take revenge for their fallen comrades, the one M-CCS class supercruiser in the fleet, the _Morning's Light_, turned its ponderous bulk towards the Ori ship.

Fire from said Ha'tak began to focus on the supercruiser, but if there was one Covenant ship that could easily take the fire, it was that one. Behind the supercruisers powerful shields, its five energy projectors charged up...and fired. Condensed white beams of energy lanced through space, all five heading for the same target.

The Ha'tak narrowly evaded the first, but the second hit it square in the center. The silver barrier flared brightly, the warship's overtaxed power grid doing everything it could to reflect the insane amount of energy pouring through it. And it managed to do so...until the third beam hit. The shield collapsed, as the fourth and fifth beam trisected the Ha'tak...before it's reactor blew it apart.

"Yes!"

"I think you were right Sam," Daniel said, a hint of awe in his voice.

Sam nodded slightly...she had long believed that the Energy Projector was at least as powerful as an Ori beam. And that just confirmed it.

"The last two Ha'tak are trying to retreat!" one of the UNSC crew called out.

"Cut them off!" Landry barked out, "We can't let the Ori know we're here!"

Before the _Odyssey_ could even begin to move, two hyperspace portals opened in front of the Ha'tak...but it wasn't them.

The UNSC _Rainer_ and _Shadow of Intent_ had moved to block the Ha'tak. The _Valiant_-class cruiser fired it's massive MAC cannons almost point blank into one Ha'tak, the ship literally _pushed_ back in space as its shield struggled to hold against the overwhelming kinetic energy. It held for a time...but the next barrage of shells from the modified MAC cut through its shield.

The other one was even worse off, as the CAS-class Assault Carrier in front of it fired its Energy Projector and all the plasma torpedoes it had. The white beam nearly overloaded the shield, leaving it unable to take the brilliantly red balls of plasma. The energy 'stuck' to the shield, overloading what remained of its strength before burning through its hull. The Ha'tak flew apart, leaving nothing but debris of the small Ori fleet.

"We won...we actually beat the Ori," Daniel blinked.

"Not really," Cam said, "We beat some modified Ha'tak. I don't want to think about what one of those big beams would do."

"Colonel Mitchell is correct," Teal'c agreed.

"See, T agrees!" the Colonel said, pointing at the Jaffa who merely raised an eyebrow in response, "Seriously though, we lost a destroyer to what the Ori consider point-defense weapons like our railguns. Those big toilets? They'll cut through the UNSC ships like a hot knife through my grandma's pie."

Cam's continued referencing his family aside, he had a point. The Ha'tak _were_ fitted with the secondary weaponry of an Ori Mothership. And even that had been enough to cut through a UNSC Destroyer. Not right away, but it had still done it. A full-scale Mothership main weapon? That would cut through the UNSC ships easily. The Covenant _might _fare better, but they might not.

It was certainly a sobering thought, regardless of their enhanced weaponry.

"Sir?" one of the UNSC crew spoke up.

"Yes?" Landry replied, continuing to look at the floating debris of the Ha'tak.

The man looked at his console, "Commander Cheng is requesting to beam back. She seems a bit...curious...about the Asgard weaponry."

Landry laughed, "Can't blame her there. Have her beamed up here."

* * *

**1900 Hours, December 20th, 2007 (Military Calendar)/**

**USS _Odyssey_, Tollana**

* * *

After explaining that Cheng that, _yes_ the Asgard weapons could be fitted to her ship, the officers were gathered once again. They had to plan their next move after all. Because now the Ori knew that they were back, and they knew they had brought powerful friends. The Covenant especially...there wasn't a chance in hell that the Priors hadn't let their counterparts know of the warships with equal firepower to their own. And then of course there was the _Ecumene_...massive, and every bit as advanced and powerful as an Ori Mothership. It would be surprising if their enemy _didn't_ start tossing ships at Tollana in short order.

So they could hardly stay here, even if the planet were in shape to do so. Which of course, it wasn't. Tollana _could_ be terraformed, the UNSC had the technology. But they had neither the time or the chance to do so.

"So, where we headin?" Cam asked.

"I would suggest Neo Tollan," Cheng replied, "That's where our base of operations is. I'm sure you can help us from there."

Landry nodded, "That could work. Where exactly _is_ it though?"

"Epsilon Eridani," the Chinese woman answered, cocking her eyebrow at the looks she got, "What?"

"Just a really strange coincidence," Daniel replied.

"Very strange," Keyes agreed, "Epsilon Eridani is home to Reach in my home universe...our main military base."

_And it is very ironic that the resistance here should use the same planet..._

Cheng blinked, "That is a strange coincidence indeed. But, if you are familiar with the world, that should make it easier to fortify against attacks."

That was the truth. The UNSC knew one thing...and that was planet Reach. If the Stargate Universe equivalent to it was anything like their own, they knew exactly how to defend and fortify the world. Granted it couldn't be the _exact_ same since Reach had been a young world in need of terraforming for human habitation in the UNSC's home universe. So this world was clearly not _exactly_ the same.

"We can fortify it with our Orbital Defense Platforms," Keyes said.

"Orbital Defense Platforms?" Cheng asked curiously, "Like the Ancient device in Pegasus?"

"Ancient device?"

Sam spoke up, "A satellite weapon that the Ancients had defending Atlantis. Similar principle to an ODP, but it used a beam weapon."

"Ah," Keyes nodded in understanding, "Yes, like that. However, our Platforms use a scaled up version of our Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. The only vessels we have ever encountered that can survive a hit from one are Forerunner, or a Covenant Supercarrier."

Considering that the Chinese Commander knew that the massive green warship outside was an 'Assault' Carrier, she could only imagine how big a 'Super' Carrier was. As for the Forerunner...she was nothing if not highly impressed with the _Ecumene_. The ship was massive, and clearly at _least_ as advanced as the Ori. Didn't change the fact that it was a very strange looking ship though.

"What of your colonists?" Nar spoke up, his voice rumbling through the room.

"That shouldn't be a problem Fleetmaster," the UNSC Commodore replied, "If this...Neo Tollan...is anything like Reach, they will feel at home. Will the Tollan have any issue with us settling 'their' world?"

"I don't think so," Cheng said thoughtfully.

"The Tollan never had any real issue with someone if they weren't Goa'uld, but were still advanced," Sam chimed in.

"Now if you weren't advanced..." Cam muttered, having read the reports of the Tollan's massive superiority complex.

Sam sent him a look, "That aside, we are all advanced enough that we shouldn't have any issues. And...it hurts to say this, but I _really_ doubt there are enough Tollan to even complain about sharing a planet."

"They have roughly ten thousand survivors."

"Ten thousand, compared to the eleven thousand that are just _crew_ on _one_ _Phoenix._"

Keyes nodded, "We have roughly one hundred thousand colonists in all. Reach should have plenty of space for them, and the Tollan."

It was going to take some time, to break the habit of referring to Neo Tollan as Reach. Then, it was possible the UNSC would _never_ break the habit at that.

"What about the Covenant?" Vala spoke up, "No offense to our big friend over there, but they are going to stick out like a sore thumb on the surface."

Nar inclined his head slightly, "No offense taken. I, and my warriors, are well aware of how we appear to the humans of this universe. We shall set our encampment far away from the Tollan."

"It is also a good idea to stay far from the colonists," Keyes added, "They came here to avoid the Covenant."

"Very well."

With that problem settled, the group turned to planning out how they were going to reach the planet. The problem that cropped up was relatively simple really...they could hardly just drop the entire fleet out of Hyperspace. Or Slipspace, as the case may be. Dropping dozens of ships that dwarfed even Ha'tak, and in a couple cases the Ori Motherships, was not a good way to get the Tollan to trust them. By the same token though, they couldn't afford to leave any of the fleet at Tollana. It was only a matter of time until the Ori sent more effective warships against them after all.

The Priors were anything _but_ stupid.

"How are we going to arrive?" Daniel asked the burning question.

"I think it should just be the _Odyssey_ and my own ship at first," Cheng suggested, "More familiar. No offense meant, but none of the...UNSC...or Covenant ships are going to be recognized by the Tollan. We might scare them more than reassure them."

Considering the _size_ of most of those ships...

"Good point," Cam said, "Everyone agreed on that?"

A set of nods went around the table at that.

"What about the rest of the fleets?" Cheng asked.

"We'll jump to the outer edge of Epsilon Eridani," Keyes suggested, "Out of sight, but also away from Tollana before the Ori show up in force."

"Good," Landry nodded.

And with that, the meeting ended. They would need to plan how to fight the Ori still, but that could wait until after the fleet was safely at Neo Tollan/Reach. Once the fleet was safe and secure, _then_ they could begin planning on how to fight the Ori. And make no mistake...the war _was_ going to be taken to them. The Ori had had free reign over the Milky Way for far too long now. Content in the belief that nothing could harm them, now that the Asgard were gone.

The UNSC, remnant SGC, and Sangheili were going to show them just how _wrong_ they really were...

* * *

**Unknown Location**

* * *

Shock...that would probably be the best descriptor for the feelings of those watching the battle. They knew as well as anyone what the Ori were capable of. They knew that the enemy had all the knowledge of the universe at their disposal. Even with the fact that all that knowledge was condensed in one individual, Adria, now...it was still amazing. There were limitations to how much of that knowledge could reasonably be integrated into mortal technology when built by an unskilled workforce. It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that the Motherships were not any more powerful than Asgard or Alteran technology, on the most basic level.

This was proved by the _Odyssey_, before they had vanished from even this group's sight. Now that the vessel had returned however...it came back with a fleet of warships the observers had never seen. Using technology that, at least in one case, was clearly Goa'uld in origin. And yet, they lasted against the Ori better than any race had done other than the Asgard and Terrans. To see Ori technology, even weakened technology, defeated by these unknown individuals...was a shock. A shock that was welcome, nonetheless.

"I had not anticipated this," a woman said, her body glowing with a soft white light.

"None of us had," a man replied, shaking her head slightly, "Though we should have learned to stop underestimating that team."

"You are correct," the woman agreed, "Janus."

Janus smiled slightly, "It would appear we no longer have any reason to interfere, Ganos."

"You are well aware that interfering is the reason I am in exile," Ganos Lal, better known as Morgan Le Fay, sighed.

"Of course," Janus nodded, "Still, this does give me some hope the Ori may yet lose this war. I have no idea who, or where, these new players are from. But, as it was clearly not our intervention, the Others have no authority to stop them. They may lack numbers, but so to do the Ori."

"And yet, they are not entirely a match. Though you would know better than I."

As a leading scientist when he was mortal, Janus couldn't dispute that point. In fact, he was practically itching to start exploring those new ships. The ones that looked human interested him the least...while large, they used an odd mix of physical weapons and Goa'uld/Tollan designs. Clearly retrofit, no matter how effective their main coilgun was.

Now the _other_ designs, those interested him. The massive triangle ship in particular...it was using technology that got his interest. Hardlight primarily, something the Alterans hadn't used much, due to its eclectic nature. Whatever race built this ship though, clearly had a greater mastery of the technology than even his people. And considering the Alterans were the technological pinnacle of all races they had encountered...

"I am curious about these new people's," Janus finally said, "And I know you are too Morgan."

"I am curious, yes," the woman agreed, "But that is all. I cannot interfere, I have risked too much already to help."

The man sighed, "I am aware. Still, at least I have some hope now."

"As do I."

Morgan faded into the background as she said that, returning to her exile. Janus sighed lightly, a sad frown on his face. She truly deserved more. Only Oma Desala, locked in battle with Anubis for all eternity, had done more to help their children than Morgan. And both of them suffered for that. While he may have understood the rule, and acknowledged why it was there...

It didn't make it any easier for Janus to watch. Fading away himself, he entered the lower plane to examine this new warship...if nothing else, he wanted to know just what had entered Avalon...

* * *

**AN: And there we go. Now, if it seems like the Ha'tak lost quickly...remember, Ori modded or not, that's still only six Ha'tak against 60~ UNSC/Covenant ships _plus_ the _Odyssey_ and _Ecumene_. Thus, they lost though they took a UNSC ship with them.**

**As for the strength of said ships: They use Ori secondary weapons (the ones that take down a Ha'tak in a few shots in _Camelot)_. They use Ori shields and power-generation...but only at a level that can take one Ori Beam Weapon shot+some change. Since I've long established, at least in this 'verse, that Energy Projector=Ori Beam, more or less, that's why the Supercruiser did what it did. The Ori may give the Lucian converts some ships and tech, but not _too_ powerful, in case the Priors somehow get offed.**

**As for the Ancients, I figured there isn't a way they _wouldn't_ notice a bunch of transdimensional ships popping up.**

**And to answer a recurring question in the reviews: No, I have not forgotten about Merlin's device. No, I will not say more on that subject ;)**

**I hope I did a good job! And answered any questions. Let me know what you think! :D**


	3. Arc 1: Meetings

**AN: Apologies for the delay. Ended up busier than expected, and the chapter is a bit shorter as a result.**

**That being said...**

**THANK YOU! I didn't expect to hit nearly 100 reviews after just two chapters. I'm shocked at the amount of support I'm getting here. Thank you! :D**

* * *

**1300 Hours, December 21st, 2007 (Military Calendar)/**

**Neo Tollan/Reach**

* * *

To a member of the UNSC or the surviving members of the Fleet of Particular Justice, the Epsilon Eridani system of the Stargate Universe would look nearly identical to their own Universe. There were only small differences, primarily in the age of the system and the spread of its smaller moons. Overall, the differences were so small, that only one intimately familiar with Reach could really tell the differences. Well, tell the difference in the system's layout anyway. There was a rather more glaring difference that anyone could notice.

Namely, the complete and total lack of any orbital infrastructure in orbit of Neo Tollan, the equivalent to Reach herself. No orbital defense platforms, and no orbital shipyards. There was barely any infrastructure to speak of on the planet itself at that. A single small city, with the occasional military base spread around. Bases emplaced for the small defense fleet in orbit of the world.

Five Ha'tak, and three vessels designed as a collaboration between what remained of the Hebridians, the Galarans, and the Orbanians. The latter two were lucky in a way...the Ori had yet to find their homeworlds. And yet they still risked using what technology they had, coupled with the remnant of the Hebridian forces, to create warships for the resistance. It was honorable in a way, that they clung to their alliance with the Tau'ri.

And now, it was these ships that were the first to detect a hyperspace window.

"Hyperspace window, near Sarita," a Jaffa reported on the bridge of the lead Ha'tak.

"All vessels, assume defensive formation," an older Jaffa replied, the mark of Apophis on his head.

_"We can't fight if they are the Ori, Master Bra'tac,"_ the Captain of one of the human vessels spoke up.

"We die free," Bra'tac replied, "If we must."

There was silence before the voice replied, _"You are correct of course. Shields and weapons are ready...such as they are."_

The eight ships took up a defensive formation, and prepared for battle...a battle that didn't come.

_"Whoa, thanks for the welcome!"_ a familiar, to Bra'tac, voice came over the communication systems.

The old Jaffa's eyebrow went up in a manner similar to Teal'c, "Colonel Mitchell? I believed you lost."

_"We were, in a way,"_ Samantha Carter's voice replied, "_It's good to hear you're okay Bra'tac."_

"It is good to hear _you_ are okay, Colonel Carter. Where have you been?"

_"That's a very long story. We have some...friends...who can help explain. Promise me you won't shoot them when they arrive?"_

Bra'tac frowned lightly. He wondered...who could SG-1 have found that he would shoot on sight? Ori defectors? Such an event was unheard of, but it wasn't _technically_ impossible. The old Jaffa had no idea just how wrong he was.

"We will not fire on any you bring," he answered.

_"Good...thank you."_

With that, the connection was broken. The _Odyssey_ and _Sun_ _Tzu_, easy to differentiate from each other due to the ad-hoc repairs to the latter, moved aside from their former position. Where the 304s had been floating, a swarm of hyperspace portals opened...along with something different. The odd portals were a type that the Ha'tak sensors couldn't make heads or tails of...but they weren't what drew the attention of the Jaffa and human crews of the Defense Fleet. No, that was what came _out_ of the portals, both hyperspace and otherwise.

For the ships appearing had even the stoic Bra'tac blinking and struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. He had thought the Ori were impressive, for all their destructive power. What he was seeing _now_ though...

_Where have these warships come from?_ the old Jaffa wondered.

For none of the designs he saw were ones he recognized. The smallest of the dull grey ships vaguely resembled the Tau'ri designs. A main hull, with two outcroppings...though these, admittedly, appeared to be entirely devoted to engines instead of hangers like the Tau'ri were so fond of. The same couldn't be said for the other grey ships however. The ones similar in size to the Tau'ri appearing ships were clearly a similar design. However, they had more armor, and seemed to be designed for fleet battles to Bra'tac's experienced eye. Lean, fast, and powerful were all words that would fit.

The larger ships lost the lean appearance, but maintained the dangerous one. Big and bulky, they practically bristled with weaponry. Including, if he was not mistaken, Staff Cannons. Were these strange ships some new Goa'uld design?

_No, no Goa'uld would design such an effective ship._

Shaking that thought from his head, the old Jaffa turned to look at the even more impressive ships. The green vessels truly did resemble nothing he had ever seen. They looked almost organic with their gentle curves and bulges, nothing like the utilitarian look of the gray ships or the Tau'ri battlecruisers. Nor did they look like the silver Ori or pyramidal Goa'uld. They looked...alien. And of course, there was the size. Even the smallest were at least as big as the Ori vessels, themselves the largest Bra'tac had seen outside of Anubis' Mothership. And the largest? At six kilometers, Bra'tac had seen _nothing_ like it...other than the even larger vessel near the _Odyssey._

Needless to say...

"I am very curious to know where you have come across such...allies..." the old Jaffa said.

_"I am sure you are old friend,"_ Teal'c spoke up.

_"If it's any consolation, the story is worth the shock,"_ Daniel Jackson added.

"I am sure," Bra'tac replied, a small smile on his aged face.

After all, with this fleet of apparent allies, they may finally stand a chance of winning this war.

* * *

**1330 Hours, December 21st, 2007 (Military Calendar)/**

**Neo Tollan/Reach, Council Chambers**

* * *

After the combined Fleets had settled into orbit and taken defensive positions with the Resistance forces, their leaders had beamed down to the world. Or taken a Phantom, in the case of Fleetmaster 'Saranee as the Sangheili didn't have beaming or ring technology. Once on the surface however, the group had been directed by suitably awed Tollan soldiers towards the Council Chambers. Ordinarily used only for the Tollan government, it had been retrofit into a Council of War chamber in recent days...to provide a way for the Resistance leaders to meet in person, on the rare occasions all were on Neo Tollan. Right now, the room was rather crowded though.

It certainly hadn't been designed to hold a pair of fully-armored Spartan-IIs in addition to the even larger Sangheili.

"I am even more curious now," Bra'tac said, sending an evaluating look at the massive members of the group.

There was no noticeable reactions from the Spartans, John and Fred. Nar simply inclined his head slightly, having heard of Bra'tac from Teal'c. He had some level of respect for the seasoned warrior, especially considering he had lived to his age using weapons that were not cut out for real warfare.

"That's the normal reaction Master Bra'tac," Cam shrugged.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"I can imagine. Now, you claimed to have a long story?"

Daniel stepped forward at that question, and started to once again narrate the team's time in the UNSC universe. Bra'tac's eyes narrowed and widened at times, showing him absorbing the information. Absorbing information about a war that made the struggle against the Goa'uld and Ori look like child's play. Whatever else the false gods were, at least they weren't genocidal outside some of the Goa'uld.

"That is an incredible story you have told me," the old Jaffa spoke once they were done.

"If I hadn't have lived through it, I wouldn't have believed it," Daniel replied.

"Indeed," Bra'tac nodded, "and were it anyone else telling me such a tale, I would not believe it myself."

Cam shrugged again, "It is incredible. Not going to complain though...we got some nice allies out of the deal."

The old Jaffa looked at Nar again, and couldn't dispute the point. The Spartans merely reinforced that point. Yes, Earth had fallen while SG-1 was gone. But there was no guarantee that even these miracle weapons they spoke of would have turned the tide. Bra'tac was an old Jaffa, but he was not stupid. He knew that the Tau'ri governments would never have shared the Asgard technology with his own people. Without doing so, they would have been overrun eventually...the Ori could easily outproduce them.

They _had_ outproduced them.

But, while these newcomers...the UNSC and Sangheili...were individually weaker than the Ori, they made up for that with numbers. If they could produce more ships...if they could _man_ those new ships with Free Jaffa and loyal humans...they might just stand a chance. The Resistance did not lack for eager fighters. They merely lacked the ships or construction capacity to outfit the volunteers. The UNSC had brought a mobile shipyard with them, from what SG-1 said.

"Could you construct new Ha'tak?" Bra'tac asked, this time directing the question at Commodore Keyes.

The younger man frowned, "Perhaps. Our construction facilities are not designed to use naquadah or trinium. Nor have they ever built Ha'tak. It would be simpler to construct our own designs, perhaps modified to fit your specifications."

"Perhaps," the old Jaffa muttered, "my Jaffa are not trained to use any warship but Ha'tak or Al'kesh however."

"We aren't going to be attacking anyone anytime soon," Keyes replied, "we have to establish a base. Infrastructure, mining, orbital defenses. We aren't ready to launch attacks on the Ori, and that should give time to train your forces in our weaponry."

After saying that, the Commodore turned to SG-1, a small glare on his face, "And to _improve_ that weaponry. I can understand why you have limited access to Asgard weaponry and shielding, but if we are to survive against the Ori we _must_ have Asgard technology on _all_ our warships. Nothing else, but the _Ecumene_, will suffice."

Sam had the grace to flush slightly, "It wasn't really our choice sir. It wasn't our technology to give away...that was the Asgard's choice."

"And their choice now?"

"Thor has said we can give the technology to those we trust implicitly," the blonde replied, "Within reason. I don't think they want us to give away the newest technology...not that I blame them, with how powerful it is."

"Nonetheless, we need the technology," Keyes said with a tone of finality, "Goa'uld shields aren't going to cut it anymore. And the Sangheili will always be behind us, if they lack hyperdrives."

"This is true," Nar agreed, "it is not my place to ask for your technology, however, we shall not be able to help if we cannot keep up."

As the arguments went back and forth, Bra'tac merely watched with a hint of bemusement on his aged face. Teal'c detached from his team and stood next to his mentor, the barest twitch of a smile on his face. The two Jaffa watched the proceedings for awhile, before the now younger one, turned to his protégé.

"Teal'c, while it is good to see you my friend, I am curious. How is it that you have aged so much?"

"While we were aboard the _Odyssey_, after reciveing the Asgard Legacy, we were forced to hide in a time dilation bubble," the tall Jaffa replied, "I was the one sent back, as the others had aged too much."

Bra'tac nodded, before he had to turn his attention back to the main group. With the subject of the Asgard technology tabled for the moment, it now came time to decide where the Resistance would move now. Obviously they would need to spend a not-insignificant amount of time organizing and setting up the colonists. It would take some time before the new fleet was truly ready to launch attacks on the Ori. They couldn't just jump headfirst into the war after all...preparations needed to be made. Troops needed to be trained. Ships needed to be built. So on and so forth.

They could hardly just sit around completely though. Even before the _Odyssey_ had returned, the Resistance had launched the occasional raid. If they didn't continue that, the Ori might start searching _them_ out. And until orbital defenses could be set up, that was something the Resistance could _not_ afford. So then...where did that leave them?

"Scouts are a must," Keyes spoke up, looking at a 'map' of Ori territory, "especially here."

The UNSC commander put a finger on a blank spot of the Milky Way. Neither Goa'uld, nor Ori, had gone there.

"That's where the Furlings were, according to the Asgard," Daniel spoke up.

"Then that means we must scout there even more."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"We'll do it," Cam nodded.

With that statement, a plan began to take shape. The _Odyssey_, once it had transferred what was needed from the Asgard Core, would start scouting the area out due to its cloak. A Prowler or two would scout other parts of the galaxy, and attempt to find what the Ori were doing.

If they couldn't hit the enemy, they could at least spy on him. And spying was what the Prowler Corps did best.

* * *

**Tollana**

* * *

Four hyperspace windows flashed to life outside Tollana's orbit. Out of these portals came an Ori Mothership and three Ori Ha'tak. The ships slowed to a stop, as the Ha'tak took up a defensive formation around the Mothership. In almost any case, such a precaution would be pointless. Even the mighty Asgard had proven unable to so much as scratch an Ori Mothership...aside from the weapons fitted to the vanished _Odyssey_. And if that ship had been intact, it would surely have defended Earth. As that had not been the case, the Priors had long since assumed that nothing could touch their warships, as they spread Origin through the Galaxy.

At least, until now. Contact had been lost with a scout group of six Ha'tak, around a world that by all rights should have been uninhabited. Converted Lucians had told tales of Anubis' destruction of Tollana. So naturally, there was no reason for the Ori to station ships there. The scout group had only come upon reports of unknown energy readings. The Mothership in this group had been just far enough away that it couldn't join them.

Something that seemed to doom them, if the wreckage bouncing off its shield was any indication.

"The scout group was...destroyed...Prior," a man in the uniform of an Ori Commander spoke.

"So they were Tomin," the Prior agreed, looking out at the wreckage with a slight narrowing of his eyes. After all, such a feat should have been impossible.

"What shall we do?" Tomin asked warily.

"Find whomever did this, and burn them with the light of Origin."

"As you command."

The Ori ships spread out, and began scanning for any sign of where the destroyers had gone. What they didn't know, and couldn't know at that, was that they would never find them. The Cole Protocol was far too useful for that. Even presuming the Ori could find the hyperspace trail, they would merely be lead on a wild goose chase. As UNSC ships maintained a separate slipspace drive, specifically for how hard it was to track.

Naturally, they knew none of this of course.

"We are unable to detect any hyperspace windows," an officer reported.

"Prior?"

The milky-white eyes stared out at the debris and ruined world, "We shall continue preparations for our next assault. A scout will remain, in case the attackers return."

Tomin frowned lightly, "Assault, Prior?"

"We have discovered an advanced race, that will never bow to Origin," the Prior answered.

"Should we not at least attempt to..."

"No. They will burn."

The Ori Commander nodded, as his ship jumped back into Hyperspace. He felt a tiny niggling of doubt however. Everyone should have the chance to embrace Origin. Such was what he had known his whole life. There were some who were truly beyond saving, who would never embrace Origin. But did that mean entire worlds...entire peoples...entire _races_ must die? Tomin had long since lost count of how many worlds had been wiped clean of life for refusing to join the Ori. Jaffa suffered especially hard...the proud race refusing to bow down to new Gods, after millennia of mistreatment by the Goa'uld.

And how many of those campaigns had been at his order?

He truly didn't know. All that Tomin did know, was that his doubts continued to grow with every day, and every planet subjugated. This was not how he had been brought up. Origin was supposed to be forgiving. Not used as a tool to beat the people's of the galaxy into the dirt. Vala's words resonated in his head.

And Tomin, loyal soldier of Origin, just didn't know what to think anymore.

* * *

**1500 Hours, December 29th, 2007 (Military Calendar)/**

**Neo Tollan/Reach**

* * *

In the several days since the fleet had arrived at Neo Tollan, a large amount of work had begun. The colony ships had long since landed on the surface of the world, setting up settlements in their intended purpose. The few Tollan who had called the world home began to mingle with those new 'cities', in a bit of awe at the scale of the ships and their technology. For all their advancements, after all, the Tollan had never been a spacefaring race in the strictest sense. They hadn't needed to be.

And while the human populations mingled on the surface, in space the UNSC and Covenant collaborated on building a new defense net. Slowly but surely, a dozen Orbital Defense Platforms began to take shape. These were clearly different in design however, merging UNSC and Covenant technology. Graceful curves took the place of sharp edges. The central barrel of the Super-MAC remained, but it was no surrounded by plasma torpedo launchers and a miniaturized Energy Projector built with help from Grieving Light. That was why there were so few of the platforms...they were harder to produce, but more powerful.

And as shipyards began to take shape next to these platforms, the _Odyssey_ floated next to a group of Prowlers.

"It's hard to believe isn't it?" Daniel said, looking out at the new construction.

"It is, isn't it?" Cam agreed, "Makes me wish we had these before we left."

"It would have been so much easier to fight the Goa'uld and Ori," Sam nodded.

"Indeed," Teal'c finished.

Vala, for once, was silent. She had been that way a lot since they came back to their universe. Not that one could blame her really. She had a _lot_ of guilt, however much she may hide it. That had only gotten worse with the knowledge of how the Ori had overrun the Milky Way so thoroughly.

"Can't stay in the past," the resident Archeologist added, the irony of _his_ words not lost on anyone.

"Got that right. Comms, the Prowlers ready?"

The UNSC officer nodded, "Yes Colonel. We're ready to head out whenever you give the order."

"Feels odd," Vala finally spoke, "to be out exploring like we used to."

SG-1 shared a look at that, as Sam said, "You've got that right."

"It is like we used to do," Teal'c said, "and yet, it is not."

The old Jaffa had a point there. They were exploring, in the way the SG teams had always done. Albeit from the bridge of the most advanced warship in the Galaxy. But the explorations were not in any way similar to those old missions. This time, the stakes were higher than ever. They had to figure out what the Ori were doing, and where they were concentrating their forces. If they could learn where to hit the Ori hard...hit them where it would _hurt_...then the Ori could be defeated.

None in the Resistance were under the illusion they could win in a head on battle, not yet. But if they could hurt the Ori and weaken their forces, it would make it easier. And that was something they needed.

"Well, let's head out. Time to go exploring!"

And with that, the small group of ships flashed into hyperspace...ready to begin their mission.

* * *

**AN: Like I said up top...a bit shorter. I hope everyone still enjoyed it though!**


	4. Arc 1: Scouting

**AN: A bit early this time, instead of late. This chapter was pretty fun to write I think. Now, I don't normally respond to reviews but I'll make a couple general statements.**

**A. I'm still in shock at how many I'm getting. Thank you!**

**B. Atlantis will pop up in Arc 3. Which will be starting, in the current draft anyway, in Chapter 31 not counting interludes. Story itself is 45 chapters, not counting interludes, BTW.**

**C. Technology sharing. SG-1 has a bad history in that regard. They are naturally a bit leery of giving away the most powerful tech they know of. It has nothing to do with the UNSC, and more to do with them being leery of it in general. They _do_ trust their allies. ;)**

**I think that's it. Any more specific questions, feel free to ask!**

* * *

**1500 Hours, January 5th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Langara**

* * *

It had been several days since the _Odyssey_ and her UNSC counterparts had left Neo Tollan. In that time, they had been scouting worlds friendly to the Tau'ri, or outright allies. Hebridan had been the first...as reports had indicated it fell to the Ori relatively early. For a rare first in intel...the reports had not lied. The world was patrolled by several modified Ha'tak, though it hardly seemed needed. Hebridan's orbital infrastructure was...gone. Satellites floated in shattered chunks, if they floated at all. Warships and civilian traffic alike floated dead in space, decimated by the Ori's advanced technology. Even a race- races -that could defeat the Goa'uld and gain their independence, were far from a match for the far more powerful Ori.

The cities on the world had been even worse. Abandoned and shattered, as both Hebridian and Serrakin were forced to regress to an agricultural society as they worshipped the Ori. If any survivors remained friendly with Earth, it would take far to long to find them. And thus, the _Odyssey_ had left as quickly as it arrived, SG-1 unwilling to get the survivors punished.

The same scene had played out on so many worlds, it hurt. In fact, the only Tau'ri friendly worlds that hadn't been taken by the Ori were Orban, Galar, and Gaia, the Nox Homeworld.

And now, the ship was orbiting Langara. This one had a special place, even amongst their allies. Both because of its Naquadria, a way to make a UNSC nuke powerful enough to possibly hurt an Ori ship. But more than that...it was the home of Jonas Quinn, the only member of SG-1 that hadn't been aboard the ship or on Earth. Jonas hadn't been around much since Daniel returned, but that didn't mean that his former team had any desire to abandon him either.

That being said...

"Damn," Cam Mitchell muttered, looking at the damaged cities so indicative of Ori occupation.

"Jonas..." Sam gasped.

Daniel stared wide eyed at the destruction, "They must have resisted. We know Kelowna at least has the technology for a Naquadria bomb."

"They failed," Teal'c said, his voice as blunt as ever even if there was a hint of sadness in it.

"How many are left?" Vala asked, looking at the UNSC sensor operator.

The man checked his station, "There are at least a few million survivors, mostly clustered around the outskirts of the cities. None in the cities."

That was just more confirmation that the Ori did not tolerate anything bigger than agrarian societies. If anything, they were stripping the buildings for materials to build smaller towns, like the ones Daniel and Vala had seen in the Ori home galaxy. Of course, getting closer to confirm that was difficult, even with the cloak. Perhaps because of the Naquadria bomb and the mineral itself, the world was heavily garrisoned. At least ten Ori Ha'tak, and three of their Motherships hovered above Langara.

"Can we contact Jonas?" Daniel asked.

"He should still have the old codes," the resident blonde genius said, "If he has a radio, he can hear us."

Turning around, Sam walked up to the comm station, that was quickly vacated by its UNSC crewer.

"Jonas," she said, after adjusting it for both Earth and Langaran communications systems, "This is Sam. We're in orbit on the _Odyssey_. If you can hear this, please respond."

There was silence for a long time. Long enough that the ship was able to find a gap in the Ori patrols, and take up a position over the world. If it were any other ship, even a Prowler, that would have been suicide. Thankfully the _Odyssey_ had the most advanced cloak known to both universes.

"I think he might be..." Cam began to say, before the radio suddenly squawked.

_"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice Sam!"_ the familiar, if weary, voice of Jonas Quinn came over the radio, _"What took you guys so long?"_

"Long story," the blonde replied, "Do you still have your beaming transponder?"

_"Never went anywhere without it,"_ the Langaran confirmed, _"I don't want to just leave my people alone though. I'm...something of an idol now. My experience with the Goa'uld has left me one of the few who can fight the Ori on even terms. Our military was wiped out on the first day."_

Jonas managed to sound awkward about the situation. Which was to be expected with his personality. That aside though, it was not a good sign that the Langaran military was wiped out on the first day. If Jonas was leading a resistance, they had to have suffered bad losses...you couldn't train civilians that quickly, especially to fight Priors. They might hurt the Ori foot soldiers, but the Langarans had no way to neutralize their leaders.

"We'll beam up your group too," Cam said, "Might as well, the Resistance could always use more fighters. Am I right?"

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"And I'm sure _they_ could use food and a good bath," Vala added.

Daniel shook his head fondly, "Food is probably more important Vala."

The woman attempted to look affronted, but she couldn't deny the point. For his part, Jonas merely laughed softly...though it didn't hold the old cheer one could expect from the man.

_"I missed you guys. Okay, let me gather everyone up and I'll activate the transponder. We're well enough away from the Ori that it shouldn't be a problem to find us. Jonas out."_

With that message sent, the radio went silent again. The bridge crew waited for the signal from the transponder...SG-1 specifically, wondering what they would find. Langara had been occupied for so long...who knew what Jonas and his people looked like.

"Reading the transponder," one of the crew reported.

"Beam them to sickbay," Cam replied.

"Roger that sir."

As soon as it was confirmed that Jonas and a dozen Langarans were aboard the ship, SG-1 moved from the bridge and went down to Sickbay. As the ship itself moved away from the planet and deeper into the star system itself, to avoid the Ori patrols.

* * *

**Sickbay**

* * *

When the team arrived at the sickbay, they winced at the sight. Well, Teal'c didn't but even he rose an eyebrow. Jonas and the Langarans were thin and dressed in ragged clothing. Only a handful of them clutched Langaran rifles to their sides, clearly untrusting of the UNSC crew. Even Jonas himself was warily watching the nurses, clearly confused by their uniforms. When even _he_ had a wary and untrusting look on his face, it was clear that things were bad. How bad? Well, that was what the team was there to find out.

If anyone knew what life under the Ori was like, it was someone who had been fighting them for a year or so.

"Jonas!" Sam greeted the man first, moving to hug him.

The Langaran blinked, before his face broke into a tired grin, "Sam! It's great to see you!"

"It's great to see you too. When we heard Langara fell..."

And just like that, Jonas' smile faded, "Yes...that was hard for everyone. Then, the Ori love to brag so I think you know what it's like now."

It didn't take a genius to know what he meant there.

"Yeah...we haven't seen Earth yet," Daniel said, his own face set in a grim line.

"Haven't...but wouldn't you have been defending it?" the former SG-1 member asked.

SG-1 shared a look before Cam stepped forward, "Cam Mitchell, I replaced General O'Neill."

"General eh? Good for Jack," Jonas smiled slightly, "But where were you, if not at Earth?"

SG-1 sat down, Vala taking the time to introduce herself to Jonas. Once everyone was seated as the Nurses continued to look after the weary Langarans, the team began to tell their tale. Jonas reacted surprisingly well, all things considered. Then again, he had been a member of SG-1 for a year. He hadn't done quite as much outlandish stuff as most of the team, but he had little real reason to doubt anything Sam, Daniel or Teal'c told him.

Jonas _did_ trust them with his life for a reason.

Of course, that didn't make what they were saying easy to believe. Just that he didn't doubt they were telling the truth.

"So you've been in a different _universe_ for seven months?"

"Yep," Sam said.

Jonas shook his head, a small smile on it, "Only SG-1. You're back now with reinforcements though? Enough to beat the Ori?"

"We hope so," Cam nodded, "It'll take some time and it sure as hell won't be easy. But we're not just going to roll over and give up."

"I would be worried if you did. You want my help, don't you?"

Daniel shook his own head, "Not if you'd rather stay and help your own people. We didn't even know if you would still be _alive_."

"Can't blame you there," the Langaran agreed, "They took the Stargate so quickly I couldn't get out a message."

Jonas got to his feet after saying that, and walked over to his own little group. He started talking with the few who had rifles, nodding at SG-1 whenever one of them asked a question. The discussion lasted a few minutes, before the man walked back to his former team. He had a grim look on his face, but it wasn't because he was planning on staying...

"We're with you," Jonas said, "there isn't much point in staying here anymore. None of us want to leave Langara, but we can't stop the Ori on our own. We'd be more use helping you out."

"Are you certain Jonas Quinn?" Teal'c asked.

"Not at all. I don't _like_ leaving. But we've been fighting the Ori for a year. If Langara is going to be free, you'll need our help. And we need _your_ help."

Cam got to his feet, "Well I'm not going to turn down the help. Let's get you lot cleaned up, and back to Reach."

"Reach?" Jonas asked, "We're going to the other universe?"

"It's actually called Neo-Tollan," Daniel supplied, "It's just in the same place."

"Ahh..."

SG-1 left their former teammate and his people to get cleaned up and fed. They had more allies...granted, only a handful of Langarans. But anything helped...and when it came time to liberate Langara, they would have people familiar with the world to help. And while it wasn't said aloud...it was nice to have Jonas back. And a relief to know he was still alive. The more members of the old team they found the better after all.

That didn't stop the worry of what they would find at Earth, however...if anything, it just increased the worry. If Langara was this bad for daring to resist...what would Earth be like? There was not a chance in hell that the Tau'ri would just roll over and let the Ori win. Even if the Ancient platform was destroyed or ran out of drones. Even if cities were hit from orbit. Even if the Ori landed in force.

It just wasn't in human nature, especially on Earth, to roll over like that. And that made a feeling of dread go down SG-1's collective spine...

* * *

**1000 Hours, January 6th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Unnamed World**

* * *

Far away from Langara, a UNSC Prowler floated underneath its cloak. Beneath it, an Ori Mothership floated by, seemingly unaware of the ship's presence. That was a good thing, considering a Prowler would last all of a few seconds against a ship the power of an Ori Mothership. On the bridge of the small scout ship, the Captain felt his face illuminated by the light from the 'glowpoint' that provided power for an Ori ship. The man scowled at that sight, quite tempted to let some HORNET mines lose like he would against a Covenant warship. Hell, he'd done the same to _bigger_ ships before.

But all the Prowler Captains had been told, in no uncertain terms, that trying that on the Ori big boys was suicidal. Not even the full capacity of a Prowler would be enough to get through _that_ shield. Maybe if they used Naquadria on the nukes. Failing that though, the Prowlers were next to useless for anything but scout work. Which was what this particular one, UNSC _Darkest Night_, was doing. The world beneath it was not an SGC ally, it hadn't even been explored. The small scout was here specifically because it had followed the ship below it on the off-chance it might lead the UNSC crew somewhere important.

And it certainly had.

"Sensors, what am I seeing?" Captain Jones asked.

"Looks like a supply depot of some kind Captain," the woman at the station replied.

"How big are we talking?" Jones asked.

"Big sir. I see a large amount of silos. If I had to guess, based on what SG-1 reported, this was a Lucian farming world. No life-signs on the surface though...I think the Ori are just using it's silos and infrastructure to horde..."

The woman looked at her scanners closely, before a broad grin spread on her face. Jones' eyebrow went up at that, asking for an explanation without the need for words.

"I think it's naquadah sir!"

"That's a lot of naquadah then."

Considering the world was dotted with 'farms' of silos, that was an understatement. Even if only half of them were full...even if it was just raw naquadah instead of weapons grade material...that was still a _hell_ of a lot. One would wonder why the Ori were willing to have so much in one spot.

Until they thought about the fact that the Ori had _nothing to fear_ until the _Odyssey_ had returned.

"Mark every one of those silos that has naq' in them," the Captain ordered, "I want to know where they are. If we can get a raid going we might be able to get enough to supply all our needs."

"Isn't that a risk sir?" one of the crew spoke up.

"How so?"

"What if the Ori have trackers on their naquadah? We can't let them find Reach..."

Jones looked out at the green world beneath him, "That's what the Cole Protocol is for. We'd make damn sure they can't track us before going back to Reach. Our greatest asset is secrecy, and I'm sure you understand that as a proud member of the Prowler Corps...am I right?"

The other man stepped down, suitably cowed. Jones just went back to examining the world beneath his ship, as it coasted to low orbit. Carefully maneuvering around patrolling Ha'tak and Al'kesh, the _Darkest Night_ scanned ever part of the world, its crew marking any storage areas that held something of value. Considering the Ori seemed to have turned this world into one big supply depot, that took a _lot_ of time.

Time that was worth it though. While the ship hadn't found the Furlings, the overt reason for the scouting missions, finding this type of resource was almost worth not finding the mysterious race. Naquadah was _the_ key material in Stargate universe technology. Even leaving aside the fact it would allow the UNSC to upgrade all their nuclear stockpiles, it was still useful. Especially for the Jaffa and Tollan, who needed supplies that Reach just didn't have. This was a gold mine, plain and simple.

A heavily guarded one though.

"Oh my God..." the woman on sensors muttered.

"What is it?" the Captain asked.

"Two more Motherships sir."

And indeed, the first Ori Mothership had been joined by two more of the monstrously powerful ships. To a veteran of the Covenant War it _shouldn't_ have been as scary as it was. Ori ships were small by Forerunner Universe standards. That did not mean much, when everyone aboard the ship had at least some inkling of how powerful they truly were, despite the relatively small size.

"Ten Ha'tak, and three Motherships," Jones counted, "They're serious alright. Get us out of here."

"Yes sir."

The small Prowler broke away from orbit, and began moving towards the outer edge of the system. They wanted to make sure they got away without the Ori realizing they were ever there, after all.

That was the purpose of the Prowler Corps. Get in, and get out without the enemy ever knowing you were there.

* * *

**1900 Hours, January 7th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Neo Tollan/Reach**

* * *

"We've got a massive stockpile of naquadah just _sitting there_. I say we hit the Ori before they know what's happening," Cam Mitchell said.

"It is a tempting target, but I doubt the Ori would just let us waltz in," Jacob Keyes replied.

"He is correct," Nar agreed.

"I doubt anyone expects that," Landry countered, "However, this is too tempting a target to pass up. We need the resources, and the Ori aren't defending it as heavily as they could."

Keyes scowled, "You yourself have said that three of their Motherships are more than a match for the _Odyssey_. We have new shields, but our weapons are still not quite at your level. Unless you're willing to part with one of your 304s, we aren't going to have an easy time."

"The _Sun Tzu_ isn't quite ready for battle yet. It was in worse shape than anyone thought," Sam supplied, "The _Hammond_ won't be ready for trials, leave alone combat, for at least a month."

"The _Odyssey_ then?"

"We can help," Cam answered, "I've been wanting to get one of those big boys ever since we got back."

While phrased as a joke, it was anything but. Now that it had really, _really_, hit SG-1 that Earth had fallen they had gone through the grief. And now they were in the 'anger' phase. Cam was far from the only person from Earth wanting to get back at the Ori. And if anything, the number of converted Lucian Ha'tak just made it clear that they still didn't have _that_ many of the bigger ships in the Milky Way. Granted the galaxy was a big place and they certainly hadn't found all the ships by any means.

But the fact remained, that there couldn't be a lot of them. If there were, the Ori would have more of them over important worlds like Langara and this apparent supply depot. The fact they didn't could only mean they didn't have the ships to spare. Then again...

God only knew what Earth was like.

"Be that as it may, this is still a risky endeavor when we haven't fully established ourselves," Keyes pointed out.

Landry sighed, "None of us are disputing that point. Still, sometimes a risk has to be taken."

"Being as I was willing to take a handful of ships on a mission to capture a Prophet, I can understand that mindset."

"I have not heard that tale," Nar spoke up.

"I'll tell you sometime Fleetmaster," Keyes replied, marveling somewhat at the fact he could talk so...friendly...with an _Elite_.

"Very well," the Sangheili in question inclined his head, "I will volunteer two cruisers for this mission."

Considering that a CCS was a powerful warship in its own right, that was a welcome addition to the fight. Especially now that the ships had been modified with select technology by both SGC engineers and Huragok. These ships would be more than a match for most things thrown at them. How they stood up to full powered Ori ships though...

Well, that would be found out if the mission went forward.

"See, even the big guys are willing," Cam said, hooking his thumb at the Sangheili who merely blinked slowly.

"No offense Colonel, or Fleetmaster, but the Elites are always willing for a fight," Keyes replied, "however, their support does make me willing to support this mission of yours. The question now is, who will lead the forces. I am needed here, as are the Fleetmaster and General Landry. And no offense Colonel, but you are not a fleet commander."

"I'm a pilot," Cam shrugged, "even being at the helm of the _Odyssey_ is odd. No argument here."

"I would suggest Commander Keyes," Sam suggested.

The elder Keyes raised an eyebrow, "Not that I'm arguing, but do you have a reason for that suggestion Colonel?"

Sam nodded, "Yes. Miranda is an excellent strategist and very adaptable. We need that, if the Ori end up having more forces than we expect. We still don't know the full capabilities of their hyperdrives for instance, or if they have rapid response forces set up. I'd rather have her adaptability than anything else, in that type of situation."

"Very good points. Let me transfer the Spartans and Cortana to the _San Francisco_, and contact Commander Keyes."

As the Commodore did just that, Sam and Cam looked at each other. They smiled slightly, knowing very well why the Commodore was transferring the Spartans and Cortana. He may not show it, but he _did_ care deeply about his daughter. He probably wanted to make sure she had the best support he could give her. To be fair, any father would do that for their daughter. The fact they were both in a spacefaring military with multi-kilometer long warships just emphasized the point. Of course, he could also have just wanted to get Cortana out of his hair.

That AI was brilliant, but she was a handful for the somewhat straight-laced Keyes. She would have fit perfectly well with SG-1 though, if they didn't already have Kalmiya.

"You have your mission," Keyes spoke up, once he returned from sending the message.

"Roger that," Cam nodded.

"Be careful. We still don't know the full capabilities or numbers of the Ori. I don't want to lose a battlegroup because of that. If things get too hot..."

"Get out?" Sam supplied.

"Precisely. Fleetmaster, which ships are you sending?"

Nar twitched his mandibles thoughtfully, _"Prior Repentance,_ and _Dire Light_. I am well-acquainted with their Shipmasters, and both are skilled warriors. I believe they will work well with your Commander."

Keyes nodded, "Good. Well, I suggest you return to your ship Colonels. The mission will launch tomorrow morning. Make sure you are ready."

"We will be," Cam tossed off a salute, as he and Sam were beamed back to the _Odyssey_.

"I will never get used to that," Keyes shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"You never do," Landry shrugged, "They aren't doing well."

The smile fell off the Commodores face, "I noticed. This isn't as much about the resources. They want revenge."

The General sighed, "I know. SG-1 isn't normally one for that, but with General Hammond confirmed dead and General O'Neill unknown...I can't really blame them. Toss in the general condition of Earth from what Commander Cheng tells us..."

Keyes didn't say anything to that. Words weren't needed...he knew well what Landry meant.

Hopefully this upcoming mission would allow the urge for revenge to leave their systems. A warrior who fought for revenge was one who wouldn't think clearly. And that was the last thing they needed.

* * *

**AN: And there we go. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! :D**


	5. Arc 1: Raid

**AN: And here is the next chapter! :D**

**Fairly long too, especially for mostly being a battle. Hope everyone enjoys it!**

* * *

**0900 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Unnamed World**

* * *

Once again the crew of the _Darkest Night_ found themselves floating above the unnamed world. This time however, they were not here on the hunch of following the Ori. This time, they were above the world to scout out the defenses and plan out the battle. Intel gathering in its purest form, and the perfect mission for the experienced Prowler crew. They had been at it for an hour in fact, silently coasting through space around the planet. The computer- Prowlers were only rarely assigned AIs -was tagging each and every Ori craft, from the mighty Motherships to the small modified Al'kesh. The ships were tagged, and their patrol routes marked down by the advanced computer, retrofit with Asgard technology.

And they had found quite an interesting thing. Ships rarely remained in this system. In fact, only two of the Motherships- nicknamed 'Bertha' and 'Dora' after old artillery pieces considering their immense firepower -actually remained in orbit at all times. The Ha'tak seemed to rotate out with other Lucian ships, while the Al'kesh were only in orbit at certain times. The third Mothership was a different one from the last time they were there, the Asgard computer identifying subtle differences between the ships. All in all, it seemed like the Ori didn't have a permanent garrison for this world. Either they didn't have enough ships to spare to do so...

Or they had more than enough ships to spare, to rotate them out regularly.

"Coming on the last group of ships now sir," the helmsman reported.

Captain Jones looked out the viewports, at a gathering of Ha'tak floating around the third Mothership, "So it seems. Once we have tagged this fleet, release the HORNETs in standard pattern. They may not hurt the Ori much, but it's something at least."

"Sir?"

"I want to at least say I hit the Ori," Jones replied.

"Ah...yes sir."

As his crew went about their tasks, the Captain sighed softly, "Because we're going to need everything we have to win here. I can feel it..."

Jones didn't necessarily believe that the Ori Motherships were all they were cracked up to be. Having never seen their immense power, how could he? He hadn't seen them take down the _Korelev_ and an _O'Neill_. Ships that had shields just like the _Odyssey_...shields that had stood up to anything the Covenant could throw at them. The _Odyssey_ may have had more advanced shields, but the point remained.

However, despite his own doubts about the strength of the Ori...Jones still had a bad feeling.

_I'm worried. I don't know why I am. There isn't any way these ships are as strong as SG-1 says they are. Not when they're barely the size of a Covenant cruiser!_

"Sir, we've finished tagging the fleet."

"Send the report then."

"Yes sir!"

The report on the Ori ships and their patrol routes went out to the waiting strike force. As that report was analyzed and spread amongst the fleet, Jones and his men and women moved the _Darkest Night_ into a new position. Behind the ship, cloaked and naquadah-enhanced HORNET mines dropped out from the Prowler. Micro thrusters fired on the sides of the nuclear devices, spreading them into a small minefield. Not even the Ori could notice these mines...they were too small, in addition to the cloaks and dark paint.

"Mines deployed sir," the weapons officer reported, "We've got the Shiva ready to beam into the largest concentration of Al'kesh as you ordered."

"Good work," Jones nodded, "Has the fleet reported in?"

"One moment..." the comm officer replied, "We're receiving targeting telemetry. Captain Keyes wants us to hit the fighters with any nukes we can spare."

"She does realize we only have two Shivas correct?"

"Yes sir," the woman replied.

Jones sighed softly, "Sensors? What is the largest concentration of Ori fighter craft?"

The man at the sensor post started reviewing his scans, his face taught. But after a few minutes, it relaxed into a somewhat confused look. The Captain raised an eyebrow at that, as the man double checked his readings. His head came up and shook slightly.

"There aren't any fighters sir. The smallest craft out there are the Al'kesh."

"No...that doesn't make any sense," the older man muttered, moving to look at the scans himself.

They didn't lie though. Not one Ori Fighter was in sight, and they had been briefed by the Jaffa on what to expect. Why would the Ori not launch any fighters? Unless...

"Are they that confident in their ships?" Jones muttered.

It made a certain amount of sense. The Ori had ships that no one, other than the 'dead' Asgard, could handle. Why would they need to train their fighters in space combat? There was no point in using single craft, when there was no threat from even the largest enemy warship. The Ori pilots probably only had training for atmospheric combat, where the strength of Ori Motherships were excessive. It would explain why the smallest craft in orbit were Al'kesh.

And why the Ori hadn't launched any fighters in that small engagement over Tollana. Who knew if even the Lucians still used space fighters. It made the Prowler's job easier though. They could use their second Shiva on a Ha'tak...see if even a weaker Ori shield could stand up to the UNSC's most common nuclear weapon.

"Report the lack of fighters, and target Ha'tak Alpha."

A few minutes after the report went through, a swarm of hyperspace portals opened up...and out poured the combined UNSC/Resistance/Sangheili armada. A dozen UNSC ships, three newly modified Jaffa Ha'tak, and the two Covenant cruisers. At the forefront of the impressive gathering of ships was the USS _Odyssey_...already firing blue beams at 'Bertha'.

And as Ha'tak Alpha took a Shiva on its shield, Captain Jones reassessed his opinion of Ori fighting strength...

* * *

**0930 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**USS _Odyssey_**

* * *

As the _Odyssey_ dropped out of hyperspace, the maneuverable battlecruiser immediately jumped to the front of the battlegroup. Blue beams of plasma shot out at one of the Ori Motherships, impacting against its silver shield. The shield fluctuated, but it held as the Ori vessel returned fire. A large lance of golden energy shot forth, narrowly missing the _Odyssey_. The battlegroup scattered, as more blasts came from the three Motherships. The Ori seemed to be surprised at the sudden assault, even more so when two Shivas went off in their midst.

But surprised or not, they still began fighting back. The Motherships maneuvered like vessels half their size, as the dozen Ha'tak orbiting the world moved to engage the UNSC ships. The smaller destroyers and Jaffa Ha'tak moved to meet their Ori counterparts, as the two cruisers in the fleet joined their Covenant counterparts. Battle lines had been drawn, and the fleets were prepared to fight this battle to the best of their abilities.

On the bridge of the _Odyssey_, Cam Mitchell grimaced slightly as a blast impacted on the vessel's blue barrier.

"Shields at 95%," one of the crew reported.

"Ori Mothership approaching!" another shouted, as one of the 'toilet bowls' began to angle directly at the _Odyssey_. They likely recognized the threat this ship posed.

The other two Motherships moved to duel with their Covenant counterparts.

"Fire Asgard weapons!" Cam barked out.

"Firing now!"

Lances of blue plasma crossed space, right as the Ori fired their own weapon. The two attacks impacted on their respective targets, as the _Odyssey_ flared its thrusters and 'dove' relative to its enemy.

"90%," the same officer reported, wincing slightly as the _Odyssey_ shook from a hit from the second Mothership, "Make that 87%. They don't seem to like us much sir."

Cam smirked, "Well we did destroy one of their toys last time they saw us. Hard to port!"

The helmsman responded immediately, as a pair of surviving Al'kesh were lanced from the 'sky' by precise railgun fire. The battlecruiser 'flipped' on its tail, and fired another barrage at the first Mothership. The Ori warship shuddered, and began firing its secondary weapons. The blue fire pounded the _Odyssey_ mercilessly, as its own blue plasma did its best to pierce the powerful Ori shielding.

"Cam," Samantha Carter reported from her station by the Asgard Core, "We need to take that down quick!"

"I know!" the other Colonel replied, gritting his teeth as a particularly hard blow hit his ship.

The _Odyssey_ flashed past the Ori Mothership, leaving a little present along the way. A present that blew apart in a massive nuclear fireball, straining the already damaged Ori shield to the breaking point. The silver barrier flared...and flickered out. The suddenly defenseless ship began to open a hyperspace portal...before the _Odyssey_ spun back around, and pumped a barrage of blue plasma into its silver hull.

Beam after beam impacted the tough Ori alloys, burning into the hull despite all the strength of its construction. The plasma disabled the warships engines, as secondary explosions began to ripple through the Mothership's hull. A final beam lanced directly into the glowing orb at the center of the craft. That orb glowed blue for a split second...before it turned brilliantly red. The red light flashed out in a massive fireball, frying Al'kesh unlucky enough to be next to the Ori ship.

When the light faded, nothing remained of the Ori Mothership designated 'Bertha'.

"One down!" Cam whooped, as the _Odyssey_ angled on a Ha'tak.

In the distance, the UNSC _San Francisco_ combined its fire with the Sangheilli cruiser _Prior Repentance._ On the bridge of the former, Miranda Keyes grunted as her vessel took a hit from the main cannon of the Mothership they were fighting. The golden beam faded against the now-blue shield of the _Halcyon-_Mark II, as its own fire impacted on the silver Ori barrier.

"Shield's holding at sixty percent," her weapons officer, Lacey Smith reported.

"Still not as good..." Miranda muttered, as the _Odyssey_ elegantly weaved through Ori fire.

A sigh came from beside the Captain. Miranda turned her head slightly, and looked at her artificial 'sister' Cortana. In her nanite body, the AI really could pass for her twin...even though she wore civilian clothing.

"To be fair Captain, that's more because our generators aren't as good," the AI informed her, as she waved a hand and cut a wing-pair of Al'kesh from the 'sky', "Then again, neither are theirs. It's that ZPM more than anything else."

"I know that..."

As another flash of light hit their shields, the weapons officer barked out, "Fifty percent!"

Miranda winced, "But that doesn't change the fact we're taking a beating. I need a report on the fleet!"

The comm officer listened to his headset, and shook his head slightly as he turned to his Captain.

"_Heart of Iron_ has retreated into hyperspace, the Ori blew clean through their shield and took out half their engines," the man began, "_Legacy_ and _Ghosts of Reach_ both report their shields failing. The El...Sangheili are moving to cover them."

"Three ships down..." the Captain muttered, as a flare of light announced the death of the _Legacy_ from 'Dora's' weapons fire.

"Considering the fact we would have been dead ten...make that eleven...times over if we were still using Goa'uld shield's, I'd call that a good exchange rate," Cortana pointed out, "Especially since we've taken down half those Ha'tak."

And indeed, six of the Lucian warships had blown apart, their scattered wreckage making navigation difficult for the Jaffa Death Gliders, UNSC Sabers and Longswords, and the Covenant Seraphs. But navigation hazards were the least of their worries. That was the pair of Ori Motherships fighting the UNSC and Covenant cruisers.

Both warships showed no signs of damage, despite the smaller ships dying around them. Their shields repelled most fire directed at them. But even the Ori were not invulnerable, no matter how much it may seem like they were. As the _Odyssey _began to duel with the third Mothership, the _San Francisco_, _Prior Repentance _and _Dire Light_ focused on 'Dora'. The Ori Mothership fired at the UNSC ship, as it and its Sangheili counterparts returned fire.

"Fire the MAC," Miranda barked out.

"Firing now," Cortana said.

Three shells lanced out from the weapon, impacting on the Ori shield...and promptly bouncing off. At first glance, that would seem to mean the shells did no damage. That was not the case...as the Ori Mothership shuddered from the impact, and was physically pushed back by the repeat impacts.

Nor were the united forces done.

"Covenant ships are firing," Cortana reported, "Oooohhh...they're using my design!"

"Your design?" Miranda's eyebrow went up.

"I may or may not have modified he plasma torpedoes at the Fleetmaster's request," the AI replied evasively.

"Modified the...Cortana..."

"I improved the magnetic containment ma'am. Observe."

The two CCS-class cruisers fired a single standard Plasma Torpedo each. The fiery red blasts weaved through the debris, and splattered against the silver Ori shield. The Mothership shuddered again, but continued its approach, firing along the way. As the plasma burned against its shield however, the two Sangheili warships fired their second barrage of plasma. And this time, it was not in the form of the bulges of plasma that were the torps.

This time, it was a lance not dissimilar from the _Odyssey_, albeit red instead of blue. The lances impacted the Ori shield...and one punched through the weakened barrier. Ori metal burned under the heat of the near miss, a long gouge in the hull formed by the fire of the plasma.

On the _San Francisco_, Miranda Keyes blinked slowly, before turning to her AI. Cortana looked smug, as she crossed her arms over her ample chest, "Well Captain?"

"I admit, I'm impressed," the older woman replied, with a slow shake of her head, "Just let me know the capabilities of my fleet next time."

"Will do!" Cortana tossed off a lazy salute, before her glowing blue eyes refocused on the battle, "Ori Mothership has reformed its shield array. I think we did some damage though. The side that got toasted is weaker than before."

A diagram was displayed on the holo-table, showing the Ori ship. And indeed, one part of its shield was colored a deep red, to signify its weakness.

"Hmm..." Miranda bit her lip, "Contact the Sangheili. Have them fire another set of plasma lances at that point."

"About that..."

"Please tell me you're not going to say what I think you are."

Cortana shrugged elegantly, "There is a...small...problem with my modifications. The Covenant weapons aren't designed to be used like that, not like the Asgard ones. They can't fire quickly since firing a lance uses up all the Plasma reserves. I _was_ working on it with our Monitor friend but this came up."

Miranda pinched her nose, "Of course we used an untested, if effective, weapon. Are the Elite's toothless now?"

Before Cortana could answer, the Ori Mothership recovered its equilibrium enough to fire its weapon again. This time, it punched through the weakened shield of the UNSC cruiser, and burned through even the tough armor of the _Halcyon_ design. In fact, had it been any other ship...Miranda Keyes and Cortana would be dead.

As it was, their ship spun from the impact, and only Cortana remained standing. Miranda cursed as she got to her feet, ignoring a gash on her head. Turning back to Cortana, she looked at her AI. The artificial woman in question ducked her head, quickly scanning the systems of her current 'home'. The _San Francisco _had been hit hard. The Ori beam hadn't crippled her, but it had gone through three decks. The ship was going to need serious dock time to get back to full condition.

For now though...

"We're still in this Captain," Cortana relayed, "And as for the Elites...they still have weapons. They only use one turret for the lance. Not to mention that Energy Projector."

Miranda nodded, "Good. Have them fire on the weakened part of the shield. Is the MAC operational?"

"We've got enough charge for one shot ma'am!" Smith relayed before Cortana could.

"Fire with the Sangheili."

"Yes ma'am!"

As the orders were relayed, the Ori Mothership fired on one of the CCS-class cruisers. The _Dire Light_ flared silver beneath its own shield, before spinning away with a burning hole through its 'wing'. The _Prior Repentance _did not let that damage go unpunished, as it charged its Energy Projector. A beam of silver energy shot forth from the warships belly, and right into the weakened part of the Ori shield. The silver barrier flashed to life...but it was not designed to take a hit from a weapon equal to its own main weapon.

And certainly not designed to take the hit of an equivalent weapon on a damaged flank. The shield shattered, as the remaining energy of the Projector burned a gouge into the Ori hull. As the ship started to spin slightly from venting atmosphere, the _San Francisco_ fired its MAC. The single shell lanced into the hole made by the Covenant fire.

Whereupon it shattered like a shotgun shell, spraying shrapnel through the interior of the Mothership. One sliver of tungsten-carbide impacted into the Ori's generator...sending 'Dora' up in a massive fireball.

Miranda let out a small sigh, before turning to Cortana, "Report? How is the ground team progressing?"

Cortana's eyes flashed again, as she contacted her 'sister' Kalmiya.

"Noble and Blue Teams are moving on the largest silo now..."

* * *

**0930 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Unnamed World, Surface**

* * *

Descending from their cloaked dropships, nine Spartan supersoldiers fanned out with two ODST squads as backup. Four of the Spartans were the smaller and younger IIIs, the core members of Noble Team. The remaining five were the larger Spartan II supersoldiers. All of these soldiers scanned the area quickly, and had their weapons ready and aimed at the silos in the distance. This was the largest of the silo facilities, and that was why they had landed so close to it. They had to tag the largest supplies of naquadah so that the cloaked Prowlers in orbit could beam it aboard their cleared cargo bays.

It was for that reason alone that these men and women were on the surface of a hostile world.

"Area is clear Chief," Kelly relayed, as she snuck forward under her Sodan cloak.

John-117 didn't make any outward acknowledgement, but blinked once inside his helmet, "Jun, Linda, take up sniping positions. Carter, take Noble and hit the Ori from the left flank. Fred, you're with me and the ODSTs on the right. Kelly, be prepared to support either flank."

"Yes sir!"

As the Spartans and their ODST counterparts filtered into their designated formations, the moved silently towards the silo. Explosions lit up the sky above them, as Ori soldiers and converted Lucians began to run out and take up defensive positions. The former had their Goa'uld-like staves, while the latter used primitive ballistic weaponry.

"_We are in position,"_ Carter radioed in.

_"Overwatch established,_" Linda added.

The Master Chief clicked his acknowledgement light once, and raised his new rifle. The MA6 Plasma Assault Rifle, a fusing of Goa'uld and UNSC technology. A 'weapon of war' as Jack O'Neill would call it...taking the plasma fire of a Staff Weapon, and putting it in the shape of the venerable MA5 design. It lacked the firepower of the Staff, but it made up for that in firing rate and accuracy. Add in the fact that its liquid naquadah power supply didn't overheat like Covenant Plasma...

And it was a highly effective weapon.

"All teams, open fire."

Rapid fire flashes of gold plasma lanced out from the Spartans and ODSTs, scything down a dozen Ori and Lucian soldiers. The remaining Lucians fell to the ground, and returned fire with their projectile weapons. The Ori soldiers merely returned fire with their blue stave blasts, uncaring of the fire being directed at them.

"_I have spotted what appears to be a halftrack,"_ Linda relayed, as the _crack_ of her sniper rifle echoed over the battlefield.

A Lucian ground vehicle ground to a halt, its driver slumped over his wheel.

"_More soldiers approaching_," Carter informed the Chief, as Noble switched to fire on another group of Ori soldiers.

John clicked his light once, and jumped to his feet. Kelly and Fred were next to him, as the three Spartans charged into the fray. They moved swiftly, ducking from cover to cover, as the S-IIIs and ODSTs kept the enemy busy.

"Those staves pack a punch," Fred reported, as he ducked under a beam.

"We expected as much," Kelly replied, firing her MA6, "The Goa'uld design is strong enough. The Ori are better."

The Chief just fired his own rifle, "Kalmiya? Report."

The AI, currently 'inside' the Spartan's head relayed data from a Clarion spy drone, _"The Ori and Lucian forces are converging on our position. Two aircraft are approaching from the south at high speed."_

"_I see them_," Jun reported.

Far in the distance, Noble's sniper replaced his rifle with a Jackhammer missile launcher. This particular one was of the homing variety, and as Jun brought it to his shoulder, the two coffin-shaped Ori fighters flew into sight. Jun sighted in on the frontmost fighter, and waited patiently for the target lock. His sniper skills came in handy, as the material the fighter was constructed of made it hard to lock onto. Hard, but not impossible. As the ringing in his helmet announced the lock, Noble's sniper clicked the trigger on his launcher twice before discarding the empty tubes.

Two high explosive rockets lanced out from the launcher, angling right at the Ori fighter. The pilot seemed to realize his danger, as he spun into a dive. But it was just as clear the Ori didn't train their pilots to dodge homing weapons. First one, and then both missiles impacted into the unshielded fighter. The craft slammed into the ground, as its wingman stitched the hill where Jun had been standing with blue fire.

_"One fighter down."_

_"I have the other."_

Linda's rifle barked out a full magazine. Four anti-armor bullets pierced the Ori fighter, sending it careening into the ground. The resulting explosion immolated several unfortunate Lucian soldiers, and gave Noble and the ODSTs an opening to advance forward.

"The enemy is falling back," John noted.

And indeed, the Ori and Lucian soldiers broke and moved back into the silos themselves. They clearly had not expected such a fierce and coordinated ground assault. Not that anyone who hadn't fought in the Human-Covenant War could. And as the Spartans moved into the facility itself, they quickly eliminated any remaining resistance. The surprise of the initial attack coupled with the efficiency of the UNSC soldiers had done its job. That being said, the Ori reinforcements were still incoming, and they couldn't afford to stay in one spot for too long.

Even Spartans could be killed by enough numbers. And considering the Ori had at least a hundred soldiers incoming...they couldn't stay. The ODSTs spread out and began planting beaming transponders, while the Spartans cleared out remaining resistance. It took a few minutes, but soon enough they had all the naquadah marked and tagged for transport.

_"I would suggest evacuating,"_ Miranda Keyes' voice came over John's radio.

"Captain?" the Spartan asked, as he fired a burst from his MA6 at a group of Ori soldiers. The plasma fire easily went through their primitive-appearing armor, cutting down the soldiers.

Miranda's voice sounded strained as she replied, _"The Ori brought in reinforcements. We can't hold for long. Get out of there while we have the chance."_

"Roger."

The soldiers quickly moved back to their transports, getting airborne even as Ori soldiers began swarming into the area. They left behind empty silos, as the Prowlers in orbit beamed the supplies aboard. The moment the Spartans and their ODST comrades were aboard the orbiting ships, they all jumped into hyperspace. And on the surface of the world, a nuclear 'present' blew the Ori Army to pieces...

* * *

**1000 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**USS _Odyssey_**

* * *

"Well that went well," Cam mused, as the tunnel of hyperspace surrounded his ship, "We took down three motherships, ten Ha'tak and got a shit ton of naquadah."

"Yeah," Sam replied, "But...that felt too easy."

Daniel Jackson, coming onto the bridge at that statement blinked slowly, "Easy?"

"Yes. The Ori should have had more forces guarding that big of a depot. Not to mention those weren't the best soldiers they could have used."

"You think that was a distraction or something?" the other Colonel asked.

Sam nodded, "Maybe. It wouldn't surprise me."

"But if it were a trap we wouldn't have gotten out," Daniel pointed out.

The blonde colonel was going to reply, but before she could, a familiar face popped onto the bridge. Or rather, was displayed from his 'home' in the Asgard Core. Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet blinked slowly. His large eyes focused on SG-1, as opposed to the UNSC crew. Whom he still didn't trust, considering they were not the Tau'ri. He tolerated them, but that didn't mean he trusted them.

That was not why he had materialized a hologram on the bridge however. Only Thor could do so of the Asgard minds stored in the database. And he only did it when it was highly important to do so. Why was he doing it now?

"Thor?" Sam asked, caught a bit flat footed by the sudden appearance of her alien friend.

The Asgard hologram blinked his large eyes once, "I require your assistance."

"For what?" Daniel asked.

"The Asgard Core has received a message in an old code, not used since the time of the Alliance."

The Alliance in question, of course, being the Four Great Races. If a code was used from that time...

"Who is it?" Cam questioned.

"The Nox," Thor replied.

Sam frowned lightly, "But why would the Nox be contacting..."

She trailed off, her eyes going wide. Daniel had the exact same reaction, while Cam merely blinked. He was confused, to say the least. Why would the Nox contacting them be a bad thing? They were the only, confirmed, surviving member of the old Alliance after all. For a certain value of 'surviving', when it came to the Asgard. The fact they could contact them at least meant the Nox were...

Oh.

"Damn, the Ori?" the Colonel asked.

Thor nodded once, "Indeed. The Nox are requesting our aid. Somehow, the Ori are not fooled by their cloaks. They will not last long without reinforcement."

"We'll go there right away," Sam promised.

"Contact Reach," Cam ordered his crew, "See if we can wrangle up a few more ships. I want that Keyship if possible."

The crew set to their tasks. Amongst them, only Sam, Daniel and Teal'c knew the Nox. But they all had the desire to save a potential ally from the Ori...

* * *

**AN: SG-1 didn't feature too heavily here, but that was because the UNSC/Sangheili got their chance to shine. I hope I did them justice!**

**And yes, the 'advanced race' is the Nox. Always struck me as odd they just dropped off the face of the galaxy after the Klorel thing. I mean, yeah they were in exile. But still! This is the last surviving (that we know of) Great Race in Canon and we don't see them for several seasons? Did the Ori find them? We don't know, but in here they did.**

**On the Great Race subject, as you can tell I went with the 'Asgard minds are actually in the Core' thing. Which could easily have happened, if the Asgard didn't actually go for mass suicide. We know that a single Goa'uld crystal can hold an entire Asgard mind (Thor in this case) so I can easily see the _pinnacle _ of Asgard computing holding whatever is left after the Replicator war. Is it possible or logical? Maybe, maybe not. But in here, it happened. I couldn't just leave the little guys dead. ;)**

**Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter anyway! Remember to review if you liked it! :D**


	6. Arc 1: Gaia

**AN: And here is the next chapter. Apologies for the delay...I ended up busier than normal lately. Hope everyone is still around! :)**

* * *

**0900 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Gaia**

* * *

Watching orange light, unnatural orange light, flash brilliantly through the sky, a Nox woman sighed. She looked out, her eyes bearing an unusually saddened and solemn look for the peaceful race. She saw nothing but more orange light. This was natural however, even if uncommon on Gaia. Fire, fire raging unchecked through the ancient forests of the nearly untouched world. In any other situation, the Nox would long since have contained the fire. Fire, especially forest fires, were natural and as such could be allowed on occasion. A fire of this magnitude, was not.

But then, neither was the situation they were in. The Nox had long isolated themselves from galactic events. Their brief contact with the Tau'ri and Tollan aside, the peaceful race was even more of a myth than the Alterans had become. Burying the Stargate had just increased that. So it was entirely reasonable for them to assume their exile would last until the day the Asgard or Furling came to talk at long last.

It was certainly not anticipated that the exile would be ended by the Ori. The enemy that even the Alterans had feared, and one the Nox had never anticipated encountering. And it could only be the Ori...only the Alterans had ever been capable of seeing through a Nox cloak. The Ori would logically have the same ability.

And as the woman continued to watch as golden bolts of energy crashed into the Nox shield, she felt a hint of sadness. For if the Ori were here, there was little chance the rest of the Galaxy had faired better.

"Lya, you must return to the council chamber," a Nox male spoke up.

The woman, Lya, turned and smiled sadly, "Perhaps. But I must observe."

"Observe?"

"Yes," Lya replied softly, "Observe what has become of our home. I can feel the pain and fear."

That was, perhaps, an understatement. All the Nox could feel the pain from the native wildlife.

"Nonetheless, we must prepare to depart," the man's voice sounded as pained as a Nox could manage.

The woman by contrast, merely continued to smile sadly, "I am aware. I will miss Gaia."

"But were we to stay, the Ori would burn our home."

Lya nodded, "Unless the Asgard or Furling can fight in our stead."

"Indeed," the man nodded himself, "we have already contacted the Asgard."

It had been decades, if not centuries, since the Nox had reason to contact their old allies. As such, they were completely unaware of the Asgard's current situation. And also, as such, they had no reason to doubt their friends would come to their aid. The Nox did not fight. But that did not mean they could not rely on those who could, if the need arose.

And with no weapons and a shield that could not, would not, last forever...this was one of those occasions. It did not please the Nox to fight, even were it their friends and allies fighting in their stead. But it was just as clear the Ori would not accept negotiations. The Nox had attempted to contact them, but all attempts had been rebuffed before the Ori began firing.

It was similar to the Goa'uld in a way.

"Have the Asgard responded?" Lya asked, as another bolt hit the forest, "Thor?"

"They have not."

"The Furling?"

The man simply shook his head, "We are now, as ever, unable to contact them."

While the Furling were friends to the Nox, they were perhaps even more isolationist. It was little surprise they were not able to contact them.

"Then we must wait."

And as more beams fell from the sky, it was only a matter of time before the Nox were forced to leave their beautiful home.

* * *

**Ori Fleet**

* * *

Aboard the flagship of the Ori Fleet, Tomin looked out at the fire being rained down from the fleet. Ha'tak and Mothership alike were bombarding the fertile world, setting fires that would burn for weeks if untreated. And while this was far from the first time he had seen this, it never got easier. Tomin did not doubt that his people, the Ori, were in the right. He had never doubted that. But with every world scorched from the heavens, he grew more and more doubtful of the _methods_. He knew for a fact that the inhabitants of this world, the so-called Nox, had attempted to contact the fleet.

The Prior, however, had ignored any such communications. The Fleet had barely entered orbit, before it had begun sending fire towards the surface of the beautiful world. Even the Jaffa had been allowed many chances to convert. Even the _Tau'ri_\- and Vala, the thought of whom still sent a stab of pain through his heart -had been given many chances to convert to Origin. And yet the Nox had not been given any chance. Why?

Tomin would have asked the Prior, had long experience not taught him such a move was pointless. The Prior, had made quite clear on numerous occasions he would no longer entertain such questions. Tomin was expected to follow every order without so much as a word.

_And I have little doubt he would kill me were I to disobey even the slightest order..._

It was blasphemy to even think such a dark thought about a Prior of the Ori. But Tomin could not deny the truth in it. He had seen many...many...men, women, and even children, killed for lesser offenses.

_The Ori have always preached forgiveness. I have always believed that it was best to bring the light of Origin with the book and the word of Priors, not with the sword. Conversions under force of arms...why would we do such a thing? I can understand the Tau'ri and the Free Jaffa. They have always been resistant, and would fight no matter what we did. But..._

Looking out at the fires burning on Gaia, Tomin felt a sharp spike of sadness in his heart.

_What of those who won't fight? How many villages and towns have been burned because a few were unrepentant? How many worlds have been brought low, ruined because the Priors ordered it? This world...I have heard of the Nox from legends told amongst the Jaffa. Even Apophis, by all records a horrible Goa'uld, was spared by the Nox. Would such a peaceful race not make perfect converts? They would surely see the light of Origin, with no honor such as the Jaffa. And yet..._

"Beautiful, is it not Tomin?" the Prior spoke up, jarring the younger man from his thoughts.

"Prior?" the soldier asked, unsure what his leader meant.

"The fire," the Prior replied, his milky-white eyes holding the look of a fanatic, "The fire of the Ori, burning the unbelievers and heretics. They may hide in their city, but even they shall not escape."

Tomin barely held back a wince, "Prior...why did we ignore their communications? Even the Tau'ri were allowed to talk."

"Because, Tomin," the pale man replied, "The Nox are the last of our hated enemy. The Alteran are long dead. The Asgard were burned by our righteous fire, their world destroyed. The Furling have been gone longer than even the Alteran. All that remain are the Nox. And they shall soon join their blasphemous allies."

The soldier blinked slightly, unaware of this fact. Of the races the Prior had listed, he was only familiar with the Alteran and Asgard. The Alterans, naturally, as they were the ancient enemy of the Ori, driven by a holy crusade from their home galaxy. The Asgard were well known amongst Ori soldiers, as they had been the strongest enemy during the Crusade. Their technology had allowed the Tau'ri to stand as long as they had, after all. That technology had vanished from the galaxy with the Asgard's fall however.

The Furling, Tomin knew nothing of. And evidently he had not known enough about the Nox.

"They are our enemy?" the soldier asked, "Even though we have never fought?"

"Any who consorted with the Alteran are our enemy Tomin," the Prior replied condescendingly, "So it is written in the Book of Origin. The Nox are the oldest ally of the Alteran. As such, they will burn."

Were Tomin a scholar and not a soldier, he would question how the Prior had this knowledge of the Great Alliance. As he was not, he could only nod and keep his private doubts just that...private. In any case, events would prevent him from questioning the words of the Prior.

"Hyperspace window!"

For outside the Ori blockade, a swarm of hyperspace windows opened up. The suddenness of it caught the Ori fleet off guard, as they believed none knew the location of the Nox. Or, at the least, none who could help them. Tomin's first thought was that this was the Furling, the only unaccounted for Great Race. That thought was dispelled when he saw the first ships to exit the portal...two of the Tau'ri '304s'. Ships he had thought to all be destroyed. And while one of them had notable retrofits done to it, both were very much intact. But, unaware as he was of the Asgard plasma beams, Tomin's eyes were quickly drawn away from the assumed lack of threat from the Tau'ri warships.

For they were by far the smallest and least threatening appearing of the warships. Following the Tau'ri were warships that bore a similar design philosophy. Dull grey armor, with bulky hulls. The only real difference was the hangar placement- or apparent lack thereof -and the size of the warships. Even the smallest were half the size of a Mothership. The largest were _larger_. And even these grey monoliths were not what brought unfamiliar fear to Tomin's heart.

_By the Ori..._

That was the three ships at the center of the formation. A green warship, curves setting it apart from the Tau'ri- or so Tomin assumed they were. There was a grey counterpart to that warship, both equal in size. A size six times larger than the largest Ori warship. And even that wasn't what truly was terrifying.

No, that was the warship at the very center of the line. A massive, dull silver, triangular monolith of a warship. Fourteen kilometers, according to the sensors. Such a ship could, frankly, just blow through an Ori mothership, much as they did to Ha'tak.

"Orders, Prior?" Tomin asked, looking to the man most likely to know what they were up against.

"Burn them."

Tomin knew better than to question that order. The fleet reoriented itself, the ten Motherships and dozen Ha'tak, turning to face the new foe. And aboard those ships, the Ori felt a surge of pride in their fleet. Who cared that the enemy had such massive warships? They would fall to the Ori, as the Hebridan and Jaffa had. No warship could match the Ori, or so they believed.

The soldier most doubtful of that was Tomin. But he hid those doubts, as he did all his others. He would fight to the end, if he had to. And he couldn't shake the feeling that just may happen...

* * *

**0930 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**USS _Odyssey_**

* * *

Looking out at the burning world, Samantha Carter clenched her fists. It was one thing to see the results of Ori assaults. It was another thing entirely to see it _in progress_. After all, seeing burnt out buildings was nothing like seeing the fires from orbit. It reminded her, and if the gasps were any indication the UNSC crew, of the war with the Covenant. The Ori were religious fanatics, just like the old Covenant. And evidently, just like the Prophets, they had no problem with burning a world that would not surrender.

For all her anger though, Sam Carter wasn't one to give into it. Nor were Cam Mitchell or Teal'c for that matter. The two were in command of different warships now. Cam retained _Odyssey_, but Teal'c had taken a Jaffa Ha'tak as his own. That specific warship was in the vanguard of the Resistance formation, even now opening up with its golden weapons fire on an Ori Ha'tak. The other ship returned fire with its own blue weaponry, as the first shots of the Battle of Gaia were fired.

_"All UNSC warships, concentrate fire on Motherships Alpha and Beta,"_ Commodore Keyes' voice came from the _Solemn Penance_, "_Staggered volley!"_

From the barrels of six UNSC warships, three MAC shells fired. Even Ori shields were hard pressed to take 18 MAC shells in one volley. The ships staggered back, their silver shields flaring as they resisted the terrible energy of the shells. Even the ridiculously powerful Ori shields had limits however. Fires burned where shrapnel from MAC shells broke through, before the shields had quickly restored themselves.

The Ori return fire was just as brutal however.

"We just lost _Spirit!_" a crewman on _Odyssey_ called out.

Six bolts of golden energy had converged on the newly built _Halcyon-II_ cruiser, blowing through even its new Asgard shield. For all the vaunted strength of that design, new or old, even it could not stand up to the fierce fire of an Ori main weapon. The ship split in two, explosions blossoming along its hull.

"Bastards," Cam muttered, "Take us in! _Sun Tzu_, you're with us!"

The _Odyssey_ and its mismatched counterpart flared their thrusters, zooming with the modified Jaffa Ha'tak into the Ori lines. Blue bolts of plasma flashed from the _Odyssey_, blowing into the 'Alpha' mothership. That warship had yet to fully restore its shield from the MAC barrage, and only took three hits before plasma began burning into its hull.

_"Look out Colonel!"_ Cheng's voice came over the radio, as the _Odyssey_ was forced to dodge converging beams from three Ori Ha'tak.

"Damn," Daniel muttered, holding onto a console, "They're serious this time."

"This is a lot bigger of a fleet," Sam replied, hands dancing over her console as she rerouted power from the engines to the shields, "They probably want the Nox dead more than _us_ too."

Cam smiled slightly as an Ori Ha'tak collapsed under concentrated fire from two Jaffa Ha'tak, "Makes one wonder why. The Nox ain't fighting anyone."

"I highly doubt they care about that," the blonde genius shrugged, "Beta just lost their shield!"

"Spin us around Smith, hit them hard!" Cam barked out.

The UNSC crewman in question didn't verbally reply, as the _Odyssey_ flared its thrusters and spun around to angle on Mothership Beta. The warship, true to Sam's scans, had no shield as the _Sun Tzu_ pounded into it with their Tollan weapons.

"Commander, why aren't you using the beams?"

Cheng's voice sounded a bit strained as she replied, _"They malfunctioned early into the battle. We haven't fully integrated them into our systems yet!"_

As the _Sun Tzu_ had been pulled off refits for this battle, that made some sense. Regardless, though, it mattered little. The _Odyssey_ poured their own plasma fire into the side of the Ori Mothership, blowing the warship apart in a fairly impressive fireball. Behind this explosion, two other Motherhips fired on the _Ecumene_. The golden bolts flew into the side of the Keyship, flaring against its orange shield.

Light returned fire quickly, golden hardlight impacting on silver Ori shields. The moment those weapons impacted, however, the Ori suddenly stopped firing on the UNSC ships. The motherships that weren't engaged with either Assault Carrier or 304 all began firing on the _Ecumene_. As the Forerunner were the only race to have such effective hardlight weaponry, it was little wonder the Ori focused on the _Ecumene_.

They likely saw it as the biggest threat, and that was leaving aside its size. Regardless of their determination though, the fire did not get through the powerful Forerunner shielding.

_"Plasma Lances, firing."_

And as Cortana's voice came over the radio this time, it reminded the Ori that the _Ecumene_ was not their only foe. Two red Plasma Lances shot forth from both the _Solemn Penance_ and the _Shadow of Intent_. These beams collided with one Ori Ha'tak each. The pyramidal warships survived the blasts, but they started listing as their lights flickered. The strain showed on their generators, as the warships struggled to deal with the raw power of the Plasma Lance.

"Teal'c, think you can finish them off?" Cam asked, as the _Odyssey_ moved to support the _Ecumene_.

_"Indeed Colonel Mitchell,"_ Teal'c replied, "_Jaffa!"_

The three Ha'tak that had come into the battle oriented their heavier weaponry on the listing Ori counterparts. Golden fire quickly punched through the weakened shields, as all three Ha'tak focused on one Ori vessel at a time. The silver pyramids went up in flames, pieces flying everywhere. Beyond the ruin of the Lucian warships, the _Ecumene_ dueled with two Motherships at once.

"Think Light needs help?" Cam asked, as the _Odyssey_ skewered another Ha'tak.

"I don't think so," Sam deadpanned, as one of the Motherships was vaporized by hardlight fire.

The moment she said that, however, an Ori bolt got through a weaker portion of the Keyship's shield. A massive gouge was carved out of a 'leg' as the Mothership began focusing its fire on that area. Light rotated the _Ecumene_ and presented an undamaged shield to the fire, but it was a stark reminder that not even Forerunner technology was invulnerable.

"You were saying?"

Sam frowned, "Okay, I was wrong."

"The Ori are losing," Daniel added.

_"Damn it, we lost another ship!"_

That message from the _Penance_ showed that, even as the Ori lost Ha'tak after Ha'tak, they were still a very real threat. Seven of the original motherships remained, and they continued to hit the UNSC when they weren't aiming at _Ecumene_ or _Odyssey_. A frigate had been forced to flee, metal flaking from a near miss. The _Prior Repentance_ had been forced into a retreat early in the battle, after firing its Lance. The CCS had holes burned through _both_ flanks, damage that would take some time to repair.

Even so, the tide was most certainly turning in the Resistance's favor. They outnumbered the Ori, and they had four ships that could reliably hurt even the Motherships..._Solemn Penance, Shadow of Intent, Ecumene, _and_ Odyssey_. As another 'toilet-bowl' split apart at it's 'rim', that point was driven home.

It seemed like even the Ori could realize this. The six remaining Motherships fired off one last volley, before vanishing into hyperspace.

* * *

"We won," Cam blinked, "Whoa. I didn't think they'd run. They didn't the last couple'a times."

"The last times they had less ships," Sam shrugged, "Even the Ori probably won't waste Motherships. We had the element of surprise this time though..."

"Sam?" Daniel asked, a worried look behind his glasses.

"Huh?" the blonde shook her head, "Oh, I'm just thinking. We've hit the Ori three times now. Each time we had the element of surprise. Our weapons are effective, but even the Lances and the Asgard weapons can't hurt them fast enough. Now that they know we're here, we won't have that edge anymore. Things won't be this easy."

That was hard experience against the Goa'uld and Replicators speaking. For all their religious dogma, the Ori were nothing if not adaptable, unlike the Goa'uld outside a select few- Ba'al came to mind. When they realized that there were weapons and ships that could hurt them, those ships would be targeted first. Things were going to get a lot harder in the next battles.

"Well, let's think about that later," the other Colonel said, "Get the Nox on the line will 'ya?"

Sam smiled slightly, "Yeah, I got it."

Getting up from her station, Sam moved into the vacated comm station. The UNSC crewman watched curiously, interested in what these 'Nox' actually looked like. Contacting them wouldn't have been easy normally. Earth didn't have the means to do so, until the day the _Odyssey_ saw Orilla destroyed. With the Asgard Core and codes, it wasn't as hard as it once would have been.

In fact, it only took a couple minutes before a Nox face appeared on the viewscreen. One who looked suitably confused- as much as any Nox ever did -at the sight in front of her eyes.

Daniel just grinned, "Lya! Glad to see you again!"

_"It is good to see you too Daniel, Samantha,"_ Lya replied, just the barest hint of confusion in her tone, _"How have you contacted us? I had thought you did not possess space travel? And this is an Asgard code."_

"About that," Sam said, her own face holding a small smile, "We've had ships for years now. We just haven't stopped by...we've been busy."

_"That I can see,"_ the confusion had left Lya's tone and face, replaced by the enigmatic smile so typical of the Nox woman.

"As for the Asgard," the resident archeologist added, "Well...it's probably better for Thor to explain."

"_Thor is with you? We do not see an Asgard vessel."_

"That's because there isn't one," Cam spoke up.

Lya looked confused again. Understandably so, as the Nox had no knowledge of what befell the Asgard race. And how they have gifted their legacy on the Tau'ri, acknowledging them as the Fifth Race. A unilateral move to be sure...who knew how the Nox would react to _that_. Especially since, as Lya was demonstrating, the Nox had only their very out-of-date knowledge on Earth.

For a race that seemed to age and move as slowly as the Nox, the amount of advancements Earth had gone through in such a short time...it would certainly be shocking. And that was leaving aside the UNSC, Sangheili, and Grieving Light. Transdimensional travel and allies...

Yeah, that would mess with anyone. No matter how 'old' they were.

_"I believe I have many questions. Where are Teal'c and O'Neill?"_

Silence came on the bridge quickly at that statement. Even the mildly amused look on Cam's face faded away. After all, Jack was a bit of touchy subject. None really knew where, or how, he was.

"A very long story," Sam said, a hint of sadness in her tone.

_"I look forward to discussing it among friends."_

And with that, the transmission was cut, as the _Odyssey_ prepared to beam a delegation down to the Nox city. Just as the UNSC and Sangheili did the same. It was time to meet the Nox.

* * *

**Unknown Location **

**Unknown Time**

* * *

A convoy of silver vehicles, repainted to represent their new allegiance to the Ori, moved down an ill-maintained road. The vehicles rattled and jumped, their loads of Staves and other weaponry bouncing around. The lights on the vehicles shone out into the deep night, illuminating snow and ice. The dark road was deep in a mountain range, making one question why the Ori did not transport by ship.

The reason was fairly clear if one knew the situation. The Ori had limited shipping, most of their warships being used just like that...warships. With a shocking lack of air transport capability outside those ships, they had to rely on land transport in a lot of cases. This case was borderline...the weapons and food could have been shipped by air, were they inclined to.

However, this path was leading to a base set up in the mountains. The numerous guard posts along the road each needed supplies, and it was just more efficient to transport this way, with the Ori's lack of true beaming technology. It also left it vulnerable, however...

_"Ori convoy entering the kill zone in 20 seconds."_

_"All teams report in."_

_"Team 1 in position."_

_"Team 2 locked and loaded."_

_"Team 3 ready for some action!"_

_"Team 4 ready."_

_"Good. Detonation in 4...3...2...mark!"_

The lead vehicle in the convoy was tossed off the road, as a massive explosion went off underneath it. The last vehicle was similarly disabled, the fires from both illuminating the vehicles better than their own lights. As Ori soldiers poured out of the vehicles, orange tracers began to come in from every direction. The ripping sound of automatic weapons echoed through the dark, joined by the heavier report of a mounted machine gun.

Ori soldiers returned fire with their staves, blue bolts shooting into the dark. The lack of any sort of night vision harmed them however. It only took five minutes before the last soldier fell.

Emerging into the fire, a dozen men and women dressed in white clothing searched the bodies and started unloading the vehicles of all their supplies, dull green vehicles moving next to the silver Ori ones.

"That went well sir," one of the women said, standing next to the obvious leader of the group.

"'Course it did," the man shrugged, "The Ori are barely smarter than the more hard-headed Jaffa!"

"Still, these supplies will really help our operations."

"That they will."

And with that, the men and women faded into the night once more, leaving behind stripped corpses and burning vehicles. It would be two days before the Ori found their dead soldiers...and they would never find those who launched the attack...

* * *

**AN: And there we go. Not entirely satisfied with the chapter, but I hope everyone still likes it! :D**

**I think I'm still sticking to a realistic approach with the battles. The UNSC may seem to be getting the short end of the stick, but realistically, losses are to be expected. And the UNSC have the unlucky distinction of being the ones most likely to take said losses. Their warships are slow and unmaneuverable by Stargate standards. I'm willing to bet an Ori Mothership could dance circles around most UNSC (or Covenant) ships. The Sangheili have the advantage of being harder to hit...their ships have been (so far) smaller in numbers.**

**UNSC ships are not agile. There are more of them, leading to:**

**More ships=bigger target/ships are not agile=easier to hit=more losses.**

**Simple as that really. Tactics can, and will, be adjusted to take that into account though. It's a learning experience for both sides at this point.**

**I'm also enjoying turning Tomin into our resident Ori POV character. Quite fun. ;)**

**Well, I think that's everything. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Remember to review if you did, or have questions! :D**


	7. Arc 1: Nox

**AN: Sorry for the delay everyone :(**

**Busy and lack of inspiration/writers block for this chapter will do that to one. I hope everyone is still here to read it though! And I hope everyone still enjoys the chapter, delay or no delay :)**

**Hopefully it shouldn't happen again.**

* * *

**0900 Hours, January 8th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Gaia**

* * *

Debris from the fierce battle in orbit floated above Gaia. Burning hulks of Ori warships- both Motherships and Ha'tak -joined the blackened ruins of the UNSC _Spirit_. The flaming debris and blackened metal was nothing on the sight beneath them however. If one looking from space down on Earth, in the early days of the Space Race, had considered the jewel in the night sky as beautiful...it would have been nothing on Gaia. The Nox homeworld had no pollution, and had been a verdant green world, with the only gaps in that visage being the polar ice, oceans and a small desert. The world was true gemstone, a rare sight in a galaxy that was run by advanced civilizations.

That jewel was corrupted, burnt worse than any warship. Orange fire was visible from orbit, as the firestorms begun by the Ori continued to rage out of control. Smoke was slowly, but surely, obscuring even these fires however. Returning Gaia to it's previous state would be difficult, even for advanced races. It was a sad sight...one that had the Resistance angry at the Ori. Nothing new there, but to see such a pristine and innocent world brought low...

Well, anyone would be angry.

"Bastards," Cam muttered, as he stood with the rest of SG-1, sans Teal'c who remained aboard his own Ha'tak.

"The Nox wouldn't hurt a fly," Daniel agreed, "This is just..."

"Horrible?" Sam added, using the hands that would normally hold a weapon to program the beaming systems. The Nox were only going to open a small portion of their shield grid, and they had to be exact on their beaming targeting. Wouldn't do to splatter against the shield.

The resident archeologist nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I don't even want to think what Lya feels like right now...that much death and destruction. Even the Nox can only repair so much damage."

"Well, we won't know how bad it is 'till we get down there."

"Cam's right," the blonde scientist agreed, "And...we're good. The calcs have been sent to the Elites and UNSC too, so they won't have any problems."

"Vala?" Daniel turned his head, looking at the silent- odd that -member of the team.

The dark-haired woman turned away from the view of Gaia, "Yes Daniel?"

"You okay?"

Vala blinked, "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been unusually quiet. Planning on stealing something from the Nox?"

The woman looked offended, "Honestly Daniel, I don't steal from _everyone_!"

"Just making sure," the bespectacled man replied.

Huffing, Vala turned her head away and returned to looking out the window. Daniel had been on the money as far as her being quiet went though. It wasn't planning to steal anything though. It was more wondering how things had come to this point, to the point where even pacifists were being attacked. She wasn't a soldier, but even Vala knew when something was of little real military gain. Hitting the Nox was one of those things...they would have been perfectly content to just sit on their home and let events take their own course. But because the Ori- the Ori _she_ had awakened to the Milky Way's potential -wanted to wipe out any potential opposition, this world was burning.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, really. So she turned away from the window again, and walked over to the rest of SG-1. Daniel for one didn't seem to be fooled by her, but then, that man always knew what Vala was thinking. So she smiled brightly, and stood next to him. He just shook his head with an exasperated look.

"Okay boys and girls," Cam broke the silence, "Time to meet the Nox. Beam us down!"

A flash of blue light lit up the bridge, as SG-1 went to meet their old friends once more.

* * *

The exact same flash of blue light filled a platform on the Nox City, that had by now moved to an area where it _wasn't_ choked in smoke. The light deposited SG-1, plus Teal'c, and the other delegations. In this case, both Commodore and Captain Keyes, Fleetmaster 'Saranee, and Grieving Light. Waiting to greet the Resistance leaders, were Lya and Ohper. That was a deliberate choice on the part of the Nox Council. Provide the ones most familiar to- and friendly with -at least one part of the Resistance leadership. It would seem to work too, as Daniel and Sam grinned and walked up to the familiar Nox friends. Teal'c did the same, though he merely smiled slightly.

Vala and Cam looked confused though, neither having met the Nox before. The same could go for the cross-dimensional members of the delegation as well. Notably Miranda Keyes had a dubious look at the 'fairy' like nature of the ancient race. Nar merely clenched his mandibles slightly, his own opinion of the Nox rather low to begin with. A warrior culture such as the Sangheili would react that way to a pacifistic race. Toss n the way the Nox dressed- and blended with nature -and it wasn't going to be getting much out of the Fleetmaster.

"Welcome to Gaia," Lya said with her soft smile, not showing any shock at the appearance of their guests.

"It's good to be here," Sam replied, her own smile widening, "It's been too long Lya."

"I apologize Samantha," the Nox woman said, her smile downturning slightly, "It had not been our intention to isolate ourselves for so long. You are our friends."

"And so to are the Asgard," Opher added, "Where is Thor?"

SG-1 shared a look at that, before Cam stepped forward. The Colonel pulled a device out of his pocket, and set it on the ground. A flash of light revealed Thor's hologram, now floating above a mobile platform.

"Greetings, Lya and Opher," the Asgard said.

Lya seemed slightly confused, as she closed her eyes. She could not sense Thor, and that confused the Nox woman. Nox could sense all life...they were so in-tune with nature. To not be able to sense Thor, was clearly something that would confuse them.

"Thor?" Opher asked, as Lya continued to try and sense her old friend.

"I apologize, but I am not here," Thor replied with a slow blink of his eyes, "I am transmitting from where my mind is stored on the human ship _Odyssey_."

"Your mind?" the female Nox asked, "Aboard..."

Before any answer could come from Thor, Commodore Keyes stepped forward. He had been letting SG-1 talk to the Nox, knowing how long it had been. But he couldn't take too long...it was only a matter of time until the Ori came back to finish what they had started. And short of stripping Reach of its defenses, they could hardly afford to try and defend Gaia.

"That is a long story," the old officer said, "One we don't have time for right now. Is there a meeting room where we can discuss things?"

Lya blinked, "Yes, this way."

The pair of Nox lead the mismatched group behind them deeper into the city. And an impressive city it was...even Grieving Light was spinning around, quite fascinated by the melding of technology and nature. Observing the city would have to wait however...right now, they had to get to the meeting room.

Something that did not take much time, as the little group was gestured into the room. Open windows and a large skylight continued the 'natural' feel of the area, as the group took seats- aside from Nar, who was too large, Light who had no need, and Thor who couldn't. The Nox took their own seats, the enigmatic smile of their race back on their faces.

"While we are thankful for your aid," Lya began, taking into account the seeming impatience of their guests, "We are curious why you have returned to Gaia after so long. And what has become of the Asgard.

Daniel started the Resistance's side of the talks, "We were going to return soon, actually. Now that we have the capability to do so, we wanted to see how things were going here. The Ori attack just made us go a bit faster than planned."

"As for the Asgard," Sam continued, "Well...that's for Thor to explain."

Thor nodded slightly, and began his story.

"The Asgard have been dying for decades," the diminutive alien began, "In our pride, we did not seek aid from the Nox. As a result, our cloning procedures began doing more damage to our genetic code. Attempts were made to fix this degeneration, but none were successful. The final attempt left us with a rapidly progressing disease, that left the Asgard race with no option but to destroy our bodies and homeworld. What remains of our race is contained in the Legacy we left for the Fifth Race...the humans of Earth. That is why I am unable to communicate directly."

It was a shortened version of events, but Thor was as well aware as anyone that the Ori would return. He could tell the Nox what had occurred in greater detail later, when there was less of a threat of being attacked at any moment.

For their part, the Nox looked quite upset at this revelation.

"We are sorry we were unable to help Thor," Opher said, a sad look crossing his face.

"As I said, it was our own pride that prevented any aid," the Asgard replied, "And our story is not important at the moment."

Keyes saw what Thor was doing, and started talking himself, _"That_ is figuring out what to do about the Ori. They won't be gone for long...we know them too well. They'll be back eventually, and with greater forces than we can defeat. We have lasted as long as we have by avoiding direct confrontation with their main forces. We can't defend Gaia from that."

"We would not ask you to," Lya replied with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"This may be the case," Nar spoke up, "But you will die if you do not allow us to. Or if you do not flee. Those who are not warriors have no place on the battlefield."

If the Sangheili had expected to insult the Nox with that statement, he would be wrong. Lya merely sighed, and nodded sadly.

"We are aware of that my friend," she said softly, "The Nox are not, and will not be, warriors. We never intended to fight anyone, and would have peacefully allowed the Ori to talk with us. We would not have converted to Origin, but we would not have refused those who chose to do so."

"But the Ori don't care for that," Vala said, "They only care for those who will buy what they say without question."

And none at the table could deny that statement. They had all- sans the Nox -seen plenty of proof by now. Gaia was just the most extreme example of what the Ori could get up to in their 'holy' crusade. Frankly, if even one individual didn't convert to Origin, the Ori were perfectly willing to wipe out a village. They would have done the same to the Nox, no matter how Lya felt about what may have been. Hard experience with the 'gods' told anyone who had fought them _that_ much. It wouldn't have been easy to convince the _Nox_ of that fact, normally.

But now that they had experienced the same themselves, it would hopefully be easier to convince even them that they had to leave. It would be a fools errand to ask the Nox to help _fight_ the Ori. But if they could at least convince them to leave Gaia and go to Neo Tollan...that would be a victory. The Nox and Furlings were the only Great Races that the Resistance lacked technology from. With Thor's aid, they could likely get Nox tech if they could convince the stubborn race to leave Gaia. And advanced technology should never be turned down.

Expecting their aid in actually fighting though...

"And that is why I must ask you to leave Gaia," Thor took up the torch of _that_ argument.

"Leave Gaia?" Opher asked, "You know what you ask of us Thor."

"Indeed," the Asgard replied, "I am aware of that. Leaving Othalla was no easier for the Asgard. However, we do not have the resources to spare to defend Gaia and our own worlds. If the Nox will not fight..."

"We shall not," Lya confirmed.

"...then you must leave this place. The Ori have no interest in empty worlds. Gaia will endure, but only if no trace remains of our people."

The Nox looked at each other, before turning back to the Asgard. They bore identically sad looks on their faces.

"What you ask of us is not easy Thor," Lya spoke up once more, "However, we had already come to this conclusion. We are not warriors, but we do recognize the signs of a lost battle."

"Then you are aware that fighting here will not work?" Grieving Light said, speaking for the first time.

If Lya was confused by the floating ball talking to her, she didn't show it. She merely nodded slightly, not allowing the overwhelming _sadness_ she felt at the idea show. No Nox would be happy at the idea of leaving their ancestral home. But they would be even more unhappy at the idea of it suffering, when that suffering could be avoided. After all...had Gaia not suffered enough at the hands of the Ori?

"We are aware, yes. Preparations have been made to leave, once the fires have been put out."

"We may not have that much time," Keyes senior warned.

"Yet, we must stay," Opher replied, "It is our duty to our home."

If there was one thing that everyone at that table could understand, it was duty to one's home. Even Nar, who had a low opinion of the Nox, could relate. It was a risk to be sure, but could they really _force_ the Nox to leave? The answer was no of course...they couldn't. Even with it being a major risk, they had to stay until the Nox were ready to leave. The Resistance couldn't afford to abandon them.

Of course, they could barely afford to stay either. More Sangheili ships would have to be routed from Neo Tollan to help defend Gaia. They had no way of knowing _when_ exactly the Ori would return, but they couldn't very well afford to be cocky or unprepared. Because it was a _fact_ that the enemy would return, and in greater numbers. It just wasn't a fact on _when_ that would be.

"We'll stay and help where we can," Cam finally said.

"It's the least we can do," Sam agreed.

"Indeed," Teal'c added.

Daniel and Vala stayed silent, both lost in thought.

"Thank you," Lya smiled.

The elder Keyes sighed slightly though, drawing attention upon himself.

"This is not entirely altruistic," the man said, "We are hoping that you will return to Reach with us. Aid us in our war against the Ori."

_Both_ Nox bore unusual- for their race at any rate -frowns at that statement.

"You are aware that we are not warriors," Opher said, "We have said so several times."

Keyes nodded, "I am aware, yes. You don't have to help us by fighting however."

Lya and Opher looked at the other, both genuinely curious as to _what_ exactly Keyes meant. In asking for help in the war, wasn't he asking for the Nox to fight? Something they would never willingly do, and certainly something that the Resistance had to realize. Especially with the Asgard _and_ SG-1 among their numbers. To say that such a request was odd from the Nox perspective, would be an understatement of cosmic proportions.

"How so?" Lya finally asked.

The Commodore sighed again, "Technological trading is one. I understand you are as advanced as the Asgard?"

"Not necessarily," the Nox woman replied, "We live in communion with nature. Our technology has not advanced as much as the Asgard surely have."

"Yet you are still more advanced than the Goa'uld, correct?"

"Yes."

Smiling slightly, Keyes continued, "Then trading technology could prove beneficial. In addition, SG-1 informed us that you have almost miraculous healing capabilities."

Opher seemed to realize where Keyes was going before his female counterpart did. And it brought a small smile to his face.

"You are not asking us to be warriors or combat the Ori," the Nox male said, "You are asking us to heal those who do?"

"In as many words," Keyes replied, sighing yet again at the confused look he got for the statement, "Yes."

Doing so would be walking a fine line indeed. Both Nox realized that...Lya, perhaps more so. She had done something similar in hiding the Tollan weapon so many years before. It had been the closest any Nox had come in centuries to violating their closely held beliefs. But...in this case, it was different. They were not required to be anywhere near a weapon. They were merely being asked to do something they would have done anyway...heal those who needed healing. Those who were hurt, and unable to heal on their own.

This task was one they could do, indeed.

"We shall bring your suggestion before the Council," Lya spoke, "For now, we must do what we can to repair the damage to Gaia."

"And we will help in any way we can," Keyes replied.

The Nox smiled, and bowed slightly as they left to talk to their leadership. However, before they had left the room, Opher turned and walked to Sam Carter. The Nox man reached into his robe, and withdrew a small device. Green like so much related to the Nox, it lit up with a small hologram when Sam held it in her hand. Her eyes widened, seeing a star map revealed on the hologram.

"Consider this, a small token of our thanks," the Nox man said with a kind smile, "Where we last knew of the Furlings location. I believe that if anyone would help you in your battle, it would be our old friends. Use this well."

* * *

_**Ecumene**_

* * *

On the Forerunner warship orbiting Gaia, light floated down a corridor. Neither a Sentinel nor a Monitor, this light was one that would never have set foot on a Forerunner vessel. One that _could_ never have done so, in fact. The light was no more a native to the Forerunner Universe than the vessel herself was to the Stargate Universe. And were it not for Light being on the surface of Gaia- the first time the Monitor had been absent from her warship for a truly extended period of time -the light would still not be there. For it could hardly risk being detected by the Monitor. Doing so would have been a violation on a level large enough to destroy any chance it had of examining the warship.

Or, rather, _he_ had. For the light revealed itself to be Janus, taking advantage of his first real chance to examine the Forerunner vessel in detail.

"Interesting," the Ascended Lantean mused, "Quite fascinating really. I have never seen anything like this. The scale is one thing, and quite impressive in-of-itself. Never seen a race that builds everything so..._large_."

"Jealous?"

Janus spun around, and saw Morgan standing behind him. The other Ascended being had a small smile on her face, as she floated up to the scientist. The man smiled back, actually glad to see her. It was sad, but he was one of the few of his people who _would_ be happy to see the exile any longer.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't," he replied, "Morgan."

"Oh?" the woman replied.

"This technology is...wondrous. I have truly never seen anything quite like it. The scale of the construction, the materials...the power generation and weapon systems. It's all on a totally different level from any race beside our own, the Asgard and the Furling. The scale is most certainly beyond even our capabilities."

"Before we Ascended, of course," Morgan added.

Janus waved a hand, "Naturally, but the knowledge of all life kind of takes away the challenge. I am sure we could have built something of this scale pre-ascension, but it would not have been easy. But _this_...well, all indications are this is fairly standard for this race."

"And what race is that?"

"Not one native to this reality," the scientist replied, "Like we suspected. According to the computer, they called themselves the 'Forerunner'. Odd name for a race to call itself, but that is what the files claim. I can't see a correlation to any race we have ever encountered however."

Morgan smiled slightly, "That we expected. We would certainly have remembered encountering such an advanced race."

"It is possible they were wiped out in our universe before we ever reached Avalon," Janus shrugged, "Or after we departed for Lantea. I do not know. But nonetheless, this is quite a fascinating vessel to explore. It's a novel feeling my friend, having something _new_ after all these years."

The smile on the female Ancient's face only grew at the unusual excitement in Janus' voice. It was...like a kid in a candy shop, to borrow a human term. In a way, it was relaxing. Such unbridled enthusiasm and joy was rare in the Ascended population. Thousands of years with all the knowledge they possessed, in addition to the fact that a new Ascended being was such a rare occurrence, had left them rather stilted. So for Morgan, it was quite nice to have such a...happy...man with her. Certainly, it was enough to make _her_ somewhat happier.

Considering how depressing exile was, that was saying something indeed.

"What of the others?" she asked, once Janus had took a break from his 'gushing' to use another human term.

"Not as interesting," Janus replied, "The grey warships are human, as we suspected. A 'UNSC' as they call themselves. Their technology appears to be primitive on its own, lower than even the Goa'uld with the exception of their power generation and coilgun. The remainder of their technology is a mix of their own, Goa'uld, Asgard, Tollan, and Forerunner. I have to admire their ingenuity if nothing else."

"It seems to be a human trait," Morgan agreed, remembering the genius of SG-1.

"Very much so. The others are more interesting...another race we've never encountered. The humans seem to call them 'Elites'. They themselves term themselves, 'Sangheili'."

Janus sent a mental picture of the reptilian race to Morgan as he spoke of them, getting an elevated eyebrow out of the woman. They certainly were unlike anything the Ancients were familiar with. Not even the Unas were quite the same. Such a clear warrior race, one _built_ for combat, was certainly not usual. Their technology reflected that to a certain extent. Clearly Forerunner based, but at the same time...clearly geared entirely toward warfare. And on an interesting _cultural_ note...

"Janus, they aren't capable of sustaining themselves," Morgan commented, once she had looked at everything she had been shown.

The other Alteran nodded solemnly, "I know. I don't know why, but they don't seem to understand the technology they use. Or how to do anything but fight. This is a race bred to be warriors...nothing else. What could possibly have..."

Before the man could finish that statement, both Ancients flashed back into the upper plane. For below them, the Resistance had begun to leave Gaia...with the Nox floating cities in tow.

"They're returning to war," Morgan said softly.

"Yes they are," Janus nodded, "War and death. I can only hope they succeed."

* * *

**AN: Well, there's the chapter! Like I said above, I hope everyone enjoyed it!**


	8. Arc 1: Earth

**AN: We seem to be returning to the monthly updates, aren't we? :(**

**Apologies for that, but when I'm busy...I'm _busy_. Rest assured though, the story won't be abandoned. That I can promise. ;)**

* * *

**1200 Hours, February 12th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Reach/Neo Tollan**

* * *

As the Resistance continued to launch hit-and-run attacks on the gradually _strengthening_ Ori forces, preparations were finally completed for the mission that may very well turn the tide in the Milky Way's favor. Namely, the trials of the UES- United Earth Ship -_George Hammond_ had finally been finished. With the new warship ready for combat, it could become the flagship of Operation Discovery, the attempt to contact the Furling. Logically, one could have expected the Operation to begin without the flagship however, as discovering the Furling was perhaps the most important mission in the Ori War. The problem became, that in all the arguments over who would find the Furling, one key detail had come up. The fact that there _had_ to be a BC-304 in the taskgroup. This wasn't out of any sentimental issue either.

The simple fact was, that to meet the Furlings, the Resistance would do well to have an Asgard around. As the Asgard were still debating if they should move to android bodies or attempt making new clones with Nox aid, the only way to have the mind of one of the race around was through a Core. Which, as it was designed for use with the 304, couldn't be fitted to other ships easily. It was easier and- ironically -faster to rush the _Hammond_ through construction than redesign the Core. This would provide the taskgroup with a warship that could communicate with the Furlings, while also leaving _Odyssey_ and _Sun Tzu_ to help the raids on the Ori. The next question, naturally, had been who would lead the mission.

And that question found SG-1 standing at the beaming point to the _Hammond_.

"Sorry to see you go Jackson," Cam Mitchell said, shaking the other man's hand, "You too Carter. Going to miss having you two around. Feels like the teams splitting apart."

"We aren't," Daniel countered, "Just doing different missions. It isn't the first time we've done this, right Sam?"

"Not at all," the blonde agreed, "Though this is my first real time in command of a warship. General O'Neill always did that part."

"You'll do fine Carter. If anyone here can command one of these babies, its you."

Sam felt a slight blush creep up her face, "Thanks for the vote of confidence Cam."

"No problem," the man waved it off.

Daniel pushed his glasses up, "In any case, I'm sure you'll do fine Sam."

"Not to mention you have Keyes coming along. She's a good commander."

"Indeed," Teal'c spoke up, "Captain Keyes has earned the respect of both the Sangheili and Jaffa with her skill. Not many can do so."

The Jaffa had a point in that regard, when one acknowledged just how _hard_ it was to impress either warrior race. Miranda Keyes was every bit as fine a commander as her father before her however, so it only made sense for her to command the small taskgroup.

"I still want to go along."

The whining voice served to distract SG-1 from thoughts about the younger Keyes however. Vala had a pouting look on her face, something that had become fairly common when she discovered she was staying with Mitchell on the _Odyssey_, instead of going with Sam and Daniel- more so Daniel -on the _Hammond_.

"And as we've said a dozen times, you're more useful here," the archeologist replied with a long-suffering sigh.

"But it's not fun here!"

Before the familiar argument could really kick off, a message came over the radio attached to Sam's flight suit. The Colonel in question grabbed the radio, and held it up to her ear. Hans Gerhart, her XO, was rather prompt on his messages.

_"Colonel? We're all ready up here."_

"Roger," Sam replied, turning to the rest of her team, "Well, guess it's time we get going."

"Good luck out there!" Cam grinned.

"Yeah, good luck..." Vala was still pouting, gaining another sigh from Daniel.

"I hope to see you soon Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c merely nodded his head slightly.

Sam and Daniel nodded themselves, smiling as they vanished in the flash of beaming technology. Not even a second later, they reappeared on the bridge of the _Hammond_. The crew- only a couple from Earth, the rest UNSC and Tollan -saluted them as they appeared. Sam returned the salute, and moved to sit in her chair. _Her_ chair...wasn't that an odd thought. As she had told Cam, it was a very odd feeling being in command of a ship herself. Especially the most advanced ship in the fleet, built with the Asgard technology that was slapped on the _Odyssey_...but built with it from the ground up.

"Welcome aboard Colonel," Gerhart said, standing next to Sam's seat.

"Everything ship-shape?"

"Yes ma'am! We're ready to head out as soon as Captain Keyes gives the order."

Sam nodded, turning her eyes to look out the forward window. Floating around the _Hammond_ were a handful of ships. The _San Francisco_, still Miranda's flagship. The Sangheili frigate _Endless Sorrow. _A small silver ship, the joint Hebridian/Galaran/Orbanian _Freedom_. A single Jaffa built Ha'tak. And finally, the _Hammond _herself. A truly multi-national taskgroup, to represent every member of the Resistance. The fact it was commanded by a UNSC officer was due almost entirely to Miranda's skill and experience in ship combat than anything else.

On that note...

_"Are you ready Colonel Carter?"_ the woman in question radioed from her cruiser.

"We are."

_"Roger. Our first destination is the Furling colony we're calling Elysium for now."_

As Furling names were difficult to properly translate to English, they had just codenamed all the locations given by the Nox. It was simpler that way.

"Will do."

With that statement, the fleet formed a tight formation, with the _Hammond_ at the front. A massive hyperspace window opened in front of the warships, as they blasted into hyperspace. Destination...the hopefully populated Furling colony.

* * *

**1100 Hours, February 12th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Earth**

* * *

"Damn, that's a lot of soldiers," a middle-aged man whistled, observing a gathering of Ori forces through his binoculars.

"I think we found a FOB sir," a blonde woman replied.

"I do believe you're right Hailey. I'll give the Ori this, they ain't as dumb as the snakeheads. They're learning...and I count at least five patrols, and a dozen guard turrets. You?"

"I've got two more patrols, both in camo gear. Either they _are_ learning, or those are Lucians."

"I'd bet on the latter. Okay then...let's clear out. The snipers will have to get their attention."

"Yes sir!"

The pair of soldiers carefully moved back, their own camouflage gear providing the concealment they needed to avoid the Ori. Who, for all their advanced technology, had the same failing as the Goa'uld and Wraith. Namely, not providing their ground forces with motion trackers or infrared goggles. Or the more advanced crap they could make up. Nothing like the UNSC and the Spartans, who had to work with a less advanced tech base at that. Not that either of these soldiers knew that, of course. Earth remained firmly out of contact with the Resistance at large.

All they knew, was that this base was going to be a tough nut to crack, even with the advantage they held in ground tech. They knew this, even as the pair walked into their own base. Slightly over two dozen soldiers stood at attention, carrying an eclectic mix of M4 carbines and AK-74 assault rifles. American and Russian forces...united in their common goal of pushing the Ori off the planet. And every single one of them, American or Russian, saluted the man who was leading them. That included Jennifer Hailey, who moved to stand with her own team- SG-2, rebuilt from what remained of the other SG-teams.

"Well, this'll be our biggest move yet people!" the older man shouted, hooking a thumb over his shoulder at the Ori base, "They've got more troops than us, and some decently designed towers. I want the RPG teams ready to hit the towers the moment the sniper teams open up. SG-2 will lead the Marines against the west fence, while the Spetsnaz hit the East."

Looking out at the men and women around him, the man grinned cockily, "Let's show these crazies what happens when they mess with Earth."

"Yes sir!"

All the teams moved in their own groups, with SG-2 walking up to the commander first. Hailey smiled slightly, as she stood next to him...well aware that _this_ man would be leading from the front, right alongside her team. He wasn't your average General, that was for sure.

"Have I said how good it is to have you leading us General O'Neill?"

"Oh, only several times," Jack O'Neill laughed, "Come on, let's go kick those bastards where it hurts."

"Sir yes sir!"

_-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-_

Several minutes later, Jack and the rest of his team were waiting in position near the Ori base. There was not the slightest hint of movement or flash of scopes from the Earth forces, all far too well-trained and experienced to show something such as that. The Ori were blissfully unaware of what was surrounding them, even as they still performed patrols. Amateur patrols at that, as a group of them walked right past the Spetsnaz soldiers.

"All teams in position?" the General whispered into his radio.

_"Akula in position,"_ a Russian voice replied first.

_"Sniper Teams in position."_

_"RPG Team ready and waiting."_

Jack nodded slightly, sighting down his own P-90, "All righty then...fire at will!"

The crack of fifty-caliber bullets shot down range, as several Ori soldiers fell to the ground...bloody holes marking where the massive rounds punched clean through their primitive armor. As the surviving soldiers spun around- or dove for cover, in the case of the more experienced Lucians -more sniper fire pounded into their lines. As if that wasn't enough, the distraction of the sniper rounds served to keep the Ori turrets from paying attention to something more dangerous to them.

Namely, the smoke trail of five Javelin anti-tank rockets, plunging out of the sky. The rockets impacted on a single turret each, the high-explosive warheads punching clean through them before blasting apart in impressive fireballs. Missiles designed to go through the heaviest tank armor Earth had developed, had no issue with the lightly armored Ori turrets. From across the plain, another five rockets did the same to the other side's turrets, while the snipers left the remaining two gunners slumped in their seats.

"Go!" Jack shouted, as his own team jumped to their feet and added their own fire into the Ori ranks.

On the other side of the base, the rough fire of Kalashnikovs joined the ripping sound of the P-90's, Ori and Lucian soldiers falling as they struggled to identify where exactly they were being attacked from. Blue beams shot out from staves along with smaller bullets from Lucian firearms. But the lack of any advanced sensors or goggles was hurting the Ori forces. Not one beam managed to hit a target, as the soldiers fell in droves.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

As those shouts came from his team, Jack stepped carefully towards the wall of the base.

"Sniper Team? Any sign of more of the crazies ready to jump me?"

_"No sir. There are likely still soldiers in the base, but I cannot identify any. Moving to a new position."_

"Roger," the General sighed, "Okay then...no way of knowing if they might be hiding like a ninja. Fun."

One of Jack's team moved forward, shrugging her backpack off. The pack opened, revealing a set of C4 explosives. Passing the plastic explosive out, she began placing it along the wall with Hailey doing the same- and the Spetsnaz doing the same from their side of the base. Explosives were set at weak points in the wall, though not at any entrance. The Ori weren't the smartest bunch.

_Even the crazies are smart enough to guard a _door_ for Christ's sake._..

But Jack wasn't going to take that risk. He didn't have anywhere near enough men and women to take that type of stupid risk. Hence the explosives along the wall.

"All the charges on our end are primed sir," Hailey reported.

_"Akula has finished planting charges,"_ the Russian leader reported soon after.

Jack nodded, "Good. All righty, everyone get away from the wall!"

The teams filtered away from the walls, moving back into cover. An Ori soldier, perhaps hearing what sounded like a retreat from their 'formidable defenses' stuck his head above the wall to look for any sign of the Earth fighters. He had his head blown away by a sniper bullet for his trouble. Needless to say, none of the other soldiers- however many there may have been -attempted the same. They just hunkered down out of sight, and waited for the bothersome resistance to leave. This was not the first time most of these soldiers had been attacked. Attempting to pacify such a large population as Earth's would have that result. Unfortunately for these Ori and Lucian fighters however...

They had never been attacked by professional special forces soldiers. And they had never been attacked by Jack O'Neill.

"Fire in the hole!"

Massive explosions rang out through the forested area. Fire spread from the impact points, as shrapnel and burning debris flew out from the explosions. Smoke rose into the sky, concealing the new holes in the Ori base's defenses. Screams echoed through the explosions aftershocks, the 'lucky' Ori soldiers who weren't at the point of explosion still escaping with popped eardrums at best...shrapnel wounds at worse.

Explosives were another thing they just weren't trained for.

"Move up," Jack spoke into the radio, as he carefully crept forward with the rest of his team.

As the smoke cleared, the Earth fighters moved inside the base. They were greeted by no fire...most of the Ori and Lucian fighters down with varying degrees of wounds. They clearly hadn't been prepared for the explosions. As a blue beam came right past Hailey's hair though, it was apparent not _all_ of them were down.

"Damn!" the woman shouted, dropping to the ground, "That was too close."

"Didn't expect to get all of them," Jack frowned, sighting down his P-90, "_Akula, _any sign of who nearly shot our behinds off?"

There was silence for a moment, before the rough rattle of an AK answered Jack's question, _"We have found survivors barricaded in the officer quarters. Ivan counts five Ori soldiers and two Lucian_ _officers."_

"Looks like about the same in front of us sir."

Jack just grinned, and reached down his vest. His hand came up with a frag grenade, getting a raised eyebrow from Hailey. They didn't often break out the grenades, preferring to maintain their not-exactly-large stock of the explosives. Then again...

"The Ori are just like the snakeheads...no concept of frags," the General explained, "Now then..."

Pulling the pin, Jack crouched up from his position on the ground, and tossed the small explosive device. The grenade arced over the cover the Ori soldiers had been using, and garnered only a short gasp of surprise before they began shooting again. The poorly trained peasant soldiers clearly didn't even know what a grenade _was_. Something that cost them horribly, as the explosive detonated. Needless to say, the shooting stopped immediately. Carefully moving forward, SG-2 found no survivors...once again, the poorly made Ori armor provided no real defense against explosives.

Shaking his head slightly, Jack moved his team towards where the Russkies had finished mopping up the Ori survivors. The leader of the Spetsnaz squad, Grigori Kamarov, saluted the General when he saw him approaching. The highly trained Russians were intact, with only a minor stave wound to one of their soldiers to show they had ever engaged the Ori.

"We believe the base is clear General," Kamarov began, his accent still notable despite months in America.

"Good," O'Neill nodded, "Any prisoners?"

"The Lucians surrendered when it became apparent they could not win," the Russian answered.

Jack nodded and looked over his shoulder, "Hailey?"

"Just a few wounded soldiers knocked out by the explosives sir."

"Huh...not often we get prisoners. Okay, get them loaded in a truck. Time to see what goodies the Ori have stashed away here."

The Russian and American teams saluted their General, and set to work on loading the prisoners and securing the base. They all moved quickly, well aware how limited their time truly was. The Ori had likely called for backup, and being caught in the open- Javelin's or no Javelin's -against Ori aircover was not high on Jack's to-do list.

But as he moved to the largest building in the base, he quickly discovered that the 'forward operating base' was not what it seemed...

"Help...please..."

Head snapping up at the weak voice, Jack looked at Kamarov. The Russian- who had been walking with his American counterpart -merely nodded and rushed forward, Kalashnikov at the ready. Prying the door of the building open, he leaned inside, flashlight shining in the dim room. What he saw, made the Russian curse extensively in his native language. Jack only caught a couple of the words, but it hardly mattered. Because he started doing the same thing in English. For hidden away in the building, was a large group of civilians. Raggedy clothes and thin bodies, made one thing clear. These people had been prisoners for a very long time...and not treated particularly well either.

"My God..." Kamarov finally spoke in English.

"Indeed," Jack mimicked Teal'c, before stepping into the room, "What happened to you all?"

A man struggled to his feet, and walked over to the door. Dark blue eyes blinked, before focusing on the General in front of him. Not that this man could know that...Jack wasn't exactly in his dress blues.

"You...are you here to help us?" the man asked, his voice cracking.

The two soldiers shared a look, before Jack nodded, "Yeah. But I need to know what happened here."

Blinking again, the man said, "We...we've been prisoners since the Ori arrived. This is a reeducation camp...they take people who won't convert to them."

"Of course..." Jack muttered.

"We've done nothing wrong...you're going to take us somewhere safe?"

"Yes. Kamarov, get another truck down here."

The Russian saluted, and went to do just that. They had to get these people somewhere safe...somewhere to recover from whatever the Ori had done to them in the effort to convert them.

* * *

**1600 Hours, February 12th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Earth, North American Resistance Headquarters**

* * *

"General? Who are all these..."

"Ori Prisoners Doc. That camp? A reeducation camp."

"Reeducation..."

"Yup. Believe me, I'm as sick as you are."

Dr. Carolyn Lam shook her head, a disgusted look crossing it, "I can believe that. Even from here, I see severe malnutrition...what looks like beatings too. What did they _do_ to these people?"

"The dark side is powerful," Jack replied taking on a mysterious voice, before shaking his head, "and doesn't like competition. The Ori have never been the friendliest bunch. Anyone resists..."

"And they do this..."

"Pretty much."

Lam shook her head, moving to join the rest of her team in the medical complex. For his part, Jack just sighed and continued walking with Kamarov. The pair of officers were heading for the center of their little mountain hideaway. An old Cold War era base, hidden away in the Rockies just like the SGC had been- before it had been forced to self-destruct. The Ori hadn't found the new Bastion Base yet, thank God. That allowed the Resistance to take advantage of its supplies, even if most were older than the young men and women using them. At least it was a safe base, no matter how old. And right now, it was the only base they could rely on. The rest of the North American resistance was a scattered force, hiding out in forests and mountains, never staying in one place for long.

Jack wasn't about to complain about having a safe haven, not when those poor bastards were running all the time. His tendency to lead from the front did mean he wasn't in Bastion much himself though. Even if he wasn't there often though, he well knew his way to the command center. The large room with its antique projector had a map of Ori controlled territory, and Resistance hotspots currently displayed, per the General's request.

"We've identified several of these camps," Hailey spoke up, standing by the map, "The Kansas cell found the largest so far...at least ten thousand people."

"Damn," Jack said, blinking at that number. The group they had rescued had been barely a hundred strong.

"We knew they were emptying the cities," Kamarov said, pointing at the blotches of red on the map, "Those they didn't destroy as a demonstration like Moscow or Washington."

Hailey frowned, "But emptying the city is not the same as _this_."

The Russian nodded, "_Da_. But nonetheless..."

"We know what they're doing now," Jack finished.

"_Da."_

Jack sighed, "Knowing and doing something about it ain't the same though."

Moving to look at the map, the General did a mental count of how many forces he had ready to fight. His stupid act aside, Jack was not an idiot by any definition. While he would prefer still being a front-line Colonel to being a General, he _did _keep very close track of how many troops and other forces he had at his disposal. That was somewhat difficult to do when so many of the Resistance were out of contact with Bastion for weeks on end, but he managed. Right now though...

"We don't have enough people to take those camps down," he muttered, "Damn, I hate being outnumbered."

"You hate a lot of things my American friend."

"Can it Kamarov."

Electing to ignore the chuckling from his Russian counterpart, Jack tapped his chin in thought, "Hmm...we've got a lot of Ori weapons and armor from that base and the other raids. Think your boys are up for some Bond work? Hailey, Kamarov?"

"SG-2 is ready for whatever you need us to do," the blonde saluted.

"As are we. Though I believe infiltrating the Ori is better left to those who will not stick out as foreign."

The General sighed, "Good point. Okay, Hailey, get your team ready. We need someone on the inside, figure out where the crazies get supplies from, where they send them...anything you can find."

"Yes sir!"

After saluting, Hailey moved to leave the briefing room. But as she did, one of her team came running in, a shocked look on his face. Spinning out of the way to let him past, the team leader's eyebrow went up. So did Jack's, as he frowned at the panting man.

"Where's the fire?"

Panting to get his breath back, the man looked up at the General, "Sir...we have soldiers at the gate! Not ours!"

Jack's eyes narrowed, as he grabbed his P-90 off the table, "You don't say. Ori?"

"That's the thing...they aren't Ori or Lucian. They're wearing full-body armor, all black."

"Kull?" the General asked, his voice gaining a dubious tone to it.

"No. I don't know who or what they are."

Frowning slightly, Jack looked at his subordinates. Kamarov shrugged, clearly not any more sure than his commander. Hailey merely frowned, and readied her own gun. The General nodded at that, moving with the others towards the massive door that served as the base's entrance. Kamarov and Haliey's teams joined the group, all with prepped weapons. The Russian heavy weapon specialist even hefted an Ori staff, on the off chance they need the stave's power. Once they reached the gate, Jack put his own P-90 back on his shoulder, and waved a hand at the guard. The man nodded wearily, and pushed the controls to open the massive metal gateway.

As it creaked open, it revealed a squad of humanoid figures, that were indeed dressed in full-body black body armor. There were highlights of varying colors, but all were mostly black. The same was true of the _projectile_ weaponry they held in their hands, pointed at the ground in the universal sign of 'we're not here to fight'. As the only other group to use ballistic guns was the Lucians- who didn't have armor like _that_ -Jack was getting more and more curious by the minute who these mysterious strangers were. They at least _looked_ human if nothing else.

"General O'Neill?" the lead figure asked, with a distinctly female voice.

Jack's eyebrow went up, "Do I know you?"

The figure reached its hands up, and took off _her_ helmet, revealing a sharp-featured woman with short blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. Jack was even more confused now, since neither Ori nor Lucian had front-line women.

"Commander Veronica Dare, United Nations Space Command," the woman- Dare -began, "Third Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Regiment, and the head of the Earth Recon Team."

"United what now?" Jack asked, "The UN never had any space forces."

"That's a long story sir, but I was sent here on orders of General Landry, sharing overall command of the Resistance with Commodore Jacob Keyes and Fleetmaster Nar 'Saranee."

And the eyebrow went higher, "Hank?"

"Yes sir. I have a message, if you want to see it...though I believe it is safer if my team comes inside before the Ori notice something. You have my word we are not your enemy."

"Huh...let 'em in," Jack said, "But, Kamarov and his men are staying with you at all times. And I have to ask for the weapons. Security and all that."

"Of course," Dare nodded, "Believe me sir, you're in for one hell of a story."

"Good, I could use a good story."

* * *

**AN: And there is the ****_other _reason this took awhile. Getting the Jack bit just right was not easy. I hope I did well! :D**

**Not sure exactly when I can get another chapter together, but I'll do it as soon as possible! ;)**


	9. Arc 1: Discoveries

**AN: Wow...that was quite the reception for the last chapter. I'm glad everyone liked it! :D**

**A couple did point out my flaws in writing Jack though. That was the first time I've ever written everyone's favorite General though, so I'll take the fact it was only a couple as a good thing. I'm learning as I go with some characters...hopefully it improves as I go along ;)**

**Hope everyone enjoys this chapter too!**

* * *

**1525 Hours, February 14th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Furling Colony 'Elysium'**

* * *

With a flash of light, five ships dropped out of hyperspace in orbit of a brilliant green orb. The five very different looking vessels slowly came to halt, forming a formation with the smallest of the warships at the front. The powerful scanners aboard the _George Hammond_, purpose built for this task, began scanning the surrounding area and the world far below. That was the mission, and the entire reason these ships were in the area after all...exploration. Their mission was simple enough, find any sign at all of the Furling. Not even the Asgard- whom had _designed_ the sensors currently being used -had been to 'Elysium' in centuries. It truly was a mystery exactly what, or who, would be in this system. The Furling had been almost as isolationist as the Nox, after they convinced the other races- over heavy protest -to ruin Heliopolis to stop Ra.

It was because of that withdraw, that neither surviving Great Race had the slightest knowledge on where the Furling were. All that remained was the knowledge of where they _had_ bee in the height of the Great Alliance. And with how outdated that information was...well, there was a valid reason for the fact they had to explore. Instead of just sending a diplomat to Furling territory, asking for aid. It was completely unknown if any of the old allies even _survived_. Not to mention unknown if the Ori had found them first.

"Anything?" Sam Carter asked, feeling distinctly odd asking that instead of looking at the sensor readings herself.

"No ships or orbital facilities," the Tollan sensor operator reported.

"Cloak signatures? Thor programmed our sensors to identify Furling cloaks."

"Nothing ma'am," the man shook his head helplessly, "Nothing in orbit, not even debris."

Sam frowned slightly, "We knew it was possible. Still, there may be something on the surface. Comms, get me the _San Francisco."_

There was a slight delay as the Earth woman connected to the UNSC warship, the flagship of this little task group. Soon enough however, the face of Miranda Keyes appeared on the viewscreen of the _Hammond_. The woman had a questioning look on her face, clearly ready for the report.

"Nothing in orbit," Sam spoke.

_"Nothing?"_ Miranda rubbed her chin, _"Is it possible there may be something hidden?"_

"Perhaps, but if that is the case we won't find it without a dedicated scan of the system. The sensors are designed specifically to find anything cloaked with Furling technology."

_"Technology that would be centuries out of date," _Cortana broke in, _"It is entirely possible that the Asgard may not be able to identify newer technology."_

The AI did have a point. While the Asgard had advanced their technology far beyond where they had been when they last met the Furling, it was equally possible that the Furling themselves had advanced. Depending on _how_ that advancement took shape, the Furling may well have created a cloak the Asgard couldn't identify or pierce. It might explain why they hadn't been seen in so long. Though it would certainly make it more difficult to find any of the elusive aliens.

Presuming, of course, they had developed a new cloak and had not just left their colony. Which was an option for sure.

"That is possible," Sam agreed.

Standing at the side of her chair, Daniel Jackson sighed softly, "So, what now Sam?"

"We'll head to the planet. If anything is here, we'll find it."

_"Good idea. Shipmaster, Captain Hawke, patrol the area to make sure the Ori aren't nearby."_

As Miranda said that, the Sangheili _Endless Sorrow_ and the Resistance built _Freedom_ split off from the group, and began exploring the system for any hidden Ori ships. The remaining three ships, the _Hammond_, _San Francisco_, and the unnamed Jaffa Ha'tak, moved for the colony itself. At least at first glance the world didn't appear that it would have needed abandoning. It was green and blue, looking almost unspoiled by war or industrialization of a scale needed to ruin a world. If anything, it looked ripe for colonization even now.

"Beautiful," Daniel mused.

"Yeah," Sam nodded absently, "It really is. But it doesn't look like anyone's home."

"You're right..."

"What if the Furlings aren't here?" Gerhardt, the XO, asked.

The blonde in the Captain's chair sighed, "We'll have to look at the other planets the Nox gave us. This is just the most recent colony, and the one most likely to have people. It wouldn't be the first time we've had to go looking in more than one place. Remember the Tok'ra Daniel?"

"Oh don't I," the archeologist smiled nostalgically.

"So if the Furling's aren't here, we'll just keep looking."

"Pretty much," Sam nodded again.

The XO stepped back, a thoughtful look on his face. Sam for her part, returned her attention outside to the colony that the _Hammond_ was entering orbit of. From this high up, even her eyes couldn't pick up any details however. The world didn't have any structures visible with the naked eye from orbit then. Not that she would know how big or how small Furling structures were to begin with...she didn't even know what a Furling _looked_ like.

_"Anything?"_ Miranda's voice broke in again.

Sam looked at her sensors again, the officer hunched over their station. The Tollan man looked up after a few minutes, and just shook his head slightly again. That got a sigh out of the Colonel, who looked at the image of Miranda.

"No. Just..."

"Ruins ma'am. There are certainly buildings down there but I'm not reading any lifesigns. Or, at least any humanoid lifesigns."

"So no Furlings," Sam finished.

Miranda rubbed her chin again, _"Hmm...even if there are no Furlings on the planet, the ruins might have some information. Cortana, have Blue Team ready to deploy. You're going with them this time, incase there are any intact computers."_

_"Yes ma'am!"_

As the sound of Cortana walking away faded, it was Daniel's turn to talk with the commander of their little fleet.

"The Spartans?" he asked, a dubious tone to his voice.

_"Yes. We don't know what made the Furling's leave, and after the Flood...I'm not inclined to risk anything. The Spartans can handle themselves, a science team couldn't. Cortana is more than good enough for now."_

The blonde Colonel looked at her old friend with a smirk on her face, "You're just jealous you don't get to poke around Furling ruins, aren't you Daniel?"

"God, you sound like Jack," Daniel shook his head, amusement on his face.

"You are jealous, aren't you?" Sam's voice grew more serious.

Sighing softly, the bespectacled man nodded, "And you aren't?"

Sam couldn't deny that point. She _was_ jealous that she couldn't see any tech the Furlings may have left behind. They were the one Great Race she had yet to see any varied technology from. Even the Nox had- albeit grudgingly -allowed her to look at their cloaking technology once Thor convinced them to. The Furlings? Not one bit of their stuff had ever crossed her eyes, besides that gate that Maybourne used. So to say she was curious about what may be on one of their colonies was an understatement.

The same went for Daniel, who had every desire to be down on that planet, poking around the ruins. The Furling language was also something of a mystery, one he would love to decipher. Not to mention seeing their architecture could give him an idea of their culture. Frankly, everything about the Furlings interested him, since unlike the other Great Races, they lacked any real comparison in Earth history. The Ancients were Latin, the Nox resembled the various legends about fairies, and of course the Asgard were the Norse Gods. The Furlings though...there was nothing for Daniel to work with. And that just made him even more curious.

And rather bummed out that he couldn't go with the scout group.

_"Once the Spartans have secured the area, you may go to the ruins,"_ Miranda chimed in, clearly listening to the conversation.

"Thank you," Sam replied, honest thanks in her voice.

_"You two are our resident experts on this universe. That is the very reason I am sending the Spartans first. You two are far too important to risk, even for this."_

"We aren't that important," Daniel replied, humble as always.

Miranda just shook her head, _"You may believe that, but it is not the case. You are our foremost experts on culture and technology of this universe. Even for finding the Furling, I cannot in good conscience risk you. Colonel Mitchell proved that when he almost got himself killed on Halo."_

That incident hung around Cam's head like a lead weight. And really, for the much more regimented UNSC, neither Sam nor Daniel could blame them for that reaction. They were used to being allowed to go on whatever mission they wanted, no matter their worth to the SGC. With the SGC gone now...they were just too valuable to risk. Even they could understand that much, no matter how much they disliked it.

"We understand," the Colonel nodded slightly.

_"Good."_

Miranda cut the line at that, as the Pelican's carrying Blue Team and a squad of ODSTs descended to the Furling colony. And hopefully some evidence of just where the mysterious race had vanished to...

* * *

**1700 Hours, February 12th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Earth, Bastion Base**

* * *

"So...you're from another dimension?"

"Yes."

"And that's where the _Odyssey_ has been this whole time?"

"Yes."

"Damn. If I had known that I would have found another Quantum Mirror."

Jack O'Neill shook his head, as Commander Dare finished her explanation of who she was. He admitted, it was far from the easiest thing to understand even for him. He had experience in other realities, but they had all been _at least related_ to his home reality. Sure, most got horribly overrun by some variety of Goa'uld, but that was the thing...they were still recognizable as similar to his own Earth. The Quantum Mirror had never crapped him or Daniel or anyone else out in a world like what Dare was describing. Genocidal aliens hell-bent on ending humanity? Giant rings of death that made the Dakara weapon look like a firecracker? Aliens that existed just to control and infect everything?

Okay, to be fair, that last one sounded kinda like a Goa'uld on nightmare fuel. The point remained though, it was very hard to believe. Jack doubted he _would_ believe it, were it not for the fact that he had been through a hell of a lot of strange things on his own. That, and only SG-1, even without him, could get themselves involved in something like this. And frankly, if Dare was offering help, he wasn't about to turn it down. The Resistance on Earth was large, but largely ill-trained and equipped. It remained worth mentioning that even his own group was using Cold War-era weapons from this base now.

"Regardless, we are here to help now General," Dare broke into his thoughts.

"And that's something I want to know," the General frowned, "Why haven't you guys broken into Earth yet? You kicked the asses of a fleet of genocidal aliens straight out of a video game, and you can't beat the Ori?"

The Commander didn't show much reaction, as she shook her head, "Unfortunately, we can't retake Earth yet."

"Why not?"

"We don't have the forces. The Ori have concentrated their largest fleet here, over thirty Motherships. Even if our entire fleet and what remains of the Jaffa attacked in force, we couldn't break that force right now. Not without crippling the Fleet, and letting the _other_ Ori forces finish us off."

Jack's frown deepened, "Thirty? Didn't realize the crazies had that many space guns in orbit."

"With the Ha'tak, it's closer to seventy ships."

"Damn!"

No wonder there hadn't been any attempts to rescue people from Earth. That many ships was ridiculous. Where had the Ori gotten enough troops for that? Even as he thought that though, Jack answered his own question. Slaves and converts...they didn't even need to use the Lucians for that. Just find enough willing people and train them like the Jaffa, and they could manage a Ha'tak. That did raise the question of how exactly _Dare_ had reached him tough.

"If they have that many ships, how did you manage to land?" Kamarov asked that question.

"Our Prowler has the most advanced Nox cloak we could fit to it."

"Nox?" the Russian mused, "I am unfamiliar with that race."

The General on the other hand, smiled slightly, "Ah...good old Nox. What did you do to get them to turn over tech? Those guys are worse than the Asgard."

Dare shrugged, "Rescuing them from the Ori."

"Even the Nox were attacked? Man, and here I thought the Ori couldn't get worse."

"The Ori have attacked anyone who won't follow them."

Jack could easily see _that_ too. He had fought the Ori long enough to know that facet of their personality quite well. Especially after liberating that camp. If you didn't toe the line, they wouldn't hesitate to hit you _hard_. And the Ori could hit harder than anyone other than the Ancients. That being said, if even the Nox couldn't handle them...what were the UNSC doing?

Because right now, they clearly needed allies to deal with that many Ori ships. The Nox weren't going to help in that regard, Jack knew them too well for that. The Asgard could help, the little grey guys were just that nice- and he had no idea they were currently working out how to make new bodies and by extension had no ships -after all. The Ancients would sooner let the universe end than intervene beyond a couple of them, and the jackasses in charge wouldn't let even _them_ do anything. What did that leave? Jaffa? Tok'ra?

"You guys working on finding help?" the General asked.

The Commander nodded, "Before I left, I was informed that a mission to find the...Furlings...was underway. Colonel Carter is heading it."

"Sam?" Jack scratched his chin, "'Bout time she got her own command. And the Furlings? We've never found anything from those cute guys."

"Cute?" Dare asked, a hint of confusion in her tone. Hadn't SG-1 never even seen what a Furling _looked_ like?

O'Neill smiled slightly, "I've always thought they're like Ewoks. I mean, the name just sounds like a cuddly little furry guy doesn't it?"

Dare blinked, "Um..."

"Commander?" Hailey broke in, before her brain shut down from Jack O'Neill logic, "You said you had a 'Prowler' here? What exactly is that?"

In answer, Dare held out her arm. From the TAC-Pad on her wrist, a hologram of a standard-issue Prowler appeared. The angular vessel looked a lot more impressive in holo-form than it truly was. The size for example...the ships were quite small in actuality, but they didn't show that in the image. They looked deadlier than they were too, thanks to the aforementioned angular design. Probably more so to the natives of this reality, as they didn't know how much the UNSC relied on MACs...something the Prowler distinctly lacked.

"Nice," Jack said, eyes roaming over the ship, "You've got this baby tucked away somewhere?"

"Ordinarily, no," Dare replied, "Prowlers were too small to leave an atmosphere without boosters. You should thank Colonel Carter for improving our engines. Right now, the _Shadow_ is safely hidden on a Pacific island, out of sight of the Ori. We took a dropship to get here."

Hailey nodded, "That makes sense."

"Of course," the Commander nodded herself, "Now, while I cannot bring the _Shadow_ here, I did bring more than one dropship with me."

Jack's eyes narrowed, "You don't say. What did you bring?"

"Supplies," Dare answered.

"What kinda supplies?"

The Commander's eyes took on a slightly devious look, "Weapons and armor. Enough to outfit a company."

"Oh, now _that_ I can get behind!"

After seeing the armor and weapons that Dare's squad had carried, Jack was understandably eager to get his hands on some. Futuristic weapons strong enough to punch through an energy shield according to her story? The Ori were already hard-pressed to deal with old AKs and M4s. If Jack's men and women had better armor and weapons than what they had _now_...the Ori couldn't hope to stop one of their raids without bringing in air support. Something they almost never did. That could be quite the advantage.

"How good are these weapons?" Kamarov asked, crossing his arms. The Russian was picky about his gear...hence the reason he was using the AKs his team had brought still.

Dare looked at the other special forces soldier, "Our MA6 assault rifle is basically a miniaturized Goa'uld staff weapon. Rapid fire plasma bolts, that have been proven to cut through Ori armor with no resistance."

"Do they use liquid naquadah?" Hailey asked.

"Yes. An MA6 will not require reloading for a long time."

Kamarov remained unconvinced, "Accuracy? The Staff Weapon is not accurate."

"The MA6 has inbuilt sights, and the HUD on the armor we are providing will increase that. It is not a dedicated marksman rifle," the Commander continued, "But it is more accurate than any Ori weapon. We can also provide Designated Marksman Rifles, should you desire that."

The Russian nodded, "Hmm...my men will need to test these weapons. But I believe they could be useful."

"That they are," Jack agreed, "So, I'll have some of my men and women help you unload the supplies. Anything else Commander?"

"Yes. My Squad is also here to recon Ori positions. Do you have a map of these?"

"I'm sure we could put something together," Jack nodded.

Things were finally looking up on Earth. They wouldn't be throwing the Ori off the planet any time soon...but they were certainly closer to that goal than ever before...

* * *

**1840 Hours, February 14th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Furling Colony 'Elysium'**

* * *

"Daniel?"

"Sam?"

"These look nothing like anything on Earth."

"No, they don't. There are some Mesoamerican influences, but...nothing else. Then again, the Asgard buildings didn't look really 'Norse' did they?"

"Good point."

Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson walked at the center of a group of Spartans, as they explored the Furling ruins. After securing the buildings- killing what looked suspiciously like dinosaurs -Blue Team had reported that nothing was out of the ordinary. No overly hostile race to meet them, no Ori soldiers. Once that report had been submitted, Miranda had finally allowed Sam and Daniel down to the surface. And both of them were quite eager to explore these abandoned old buildings. Daniel, perhaps more so than his female counterpart. As these buildings truly were an interesting design, unlike anything he was familiar with. And to an archeologist, that was quite the adventure.

By contrast, Sam wasn't sure how much technology was left for her to poke around in. Blue Team had reported only bare-bones equipment, likely used to maintain the buildings. No 'Furling Core' that could give them information on the aliens or where they had gone. So she felt a bit like a third wheel, even as her old friend looked like a kid in a candy store.

For their parts, the Spartans just continued to scan the area silently.

"Cortana? Any power readings?" Sam asked, looking at the center Spartan.

John-117 turned his head, as Cortana's voice came out of his helmet, _"Not much, no. There are some anomalous readings deeper in the building though. But the Big Guy hasn't explored down there yet, so I don't know what might be hiding."_

"If those are the only readings, we have to go to them though," the Colonel replied.

_"This is true."_

"I am under orders to ensure both you and Doctor Jackson stay out of combat Colonel," John spoke this time.

Sam nodded, "I understand that. But if we are going to find what we need, it will be powered."

"Nonetheless, you will have to remain here."

The Spartan didn't broke any argument, as he moved forward with Fred to explore the darkened room that held the power readings. Kelly, Will and Linda stayed behind with Sam and Daniel, who were really feeling like third wheels now. The Spartans were way out of their league, even with all the experience they both possessed. And that was why Miranda Keyes had sent them with the pair. They both knew _that _much at least. Didn't mean they were particularly happy about it of course.

"Clear," Kelly spoke up, mostly for the benefit of the two without helmets.

With her eagerness returning, Sam activated her flashlight and walked with Daniel and the Spartans into the dim room. The imposing forms of John and Fred were standing in front of a platform with an orb of deep red light over it.

_"Oh, now this is interesting..."_ Cortana mused.

"What is that?" Daniel asked, looking around at the Furling writing lining the walls.

_"I believe this is an AI left for the Great Races,"_ the human AI replied, _"Quite fascinating. It's more advanced than any AI I've seen outside of myself and Grieving Light."_

Sam blinked, "That advanced?"

_"Yes, I know it is shocking."_

The problem with that theory was quite apparent however. If the AI were programed to interact with the Four Great Races...it wouldn't respond to a human touch. Then again...that was what Thor was for.

"Commander," Sam spoke into her radio, contacting the _Hammond_, "Can you beam down a holopad for Thor?"

_"Roger that Colonel."_

A flash of blue light deposited a custom holopad, designed to allow Thor to use a more corporeal hologram than the standard Asgard design. The device glowed white for a couple of seconds, before the form of the familiar Asgard appeared on its surface. Thor looked around at the room, his big eyes blinking slowly, before focusing on the AI. There was a split-second look of familiarity across his face, one that only Sam and Daniel noticed. It was clear he knew what he was looking at.

"*****" the Orb suddenly started speaking in a language that not even Daniel could translate.

Thor spoke back in the same language, before turning to his old friends, "This is Sentinel. A Furling AI left to monitor what you call Elysium, until such a time as the Asgard, Alterans, or Nox returned. I have informed him of your status as the Fifth Race and the Ori threat. I believe he is running the translation program I provided now."

"Indeed," the Orb...Sentinel...replied, "Greetings, Thor of the Asgard and Terrans. My creators did not believe you would reach this point in your development so soon."

"We had a lot of help," Daniel stepped forward, this being his forte, "I am Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Hello Dr. Jackson. Did you have a query?"

The archeologist looked around the room, the light of discovery in his eyes, "I have so many questions right now, that it would take years to ask them all. But right now...Thor told you about the Ori?"

"Yes," Sentinel blinked rapidly, "This was also an event my creators did not anticipate. The Alterans informed their allies of the Ori threat, but it was believed they would never discover Avalon. As such, it was not deemed necessary to prepare for fighting them."

"Did they hit the Furlings?" Sam broke in, suddenly feeling a cold wash of dread go down her spine.

"I do not know," the AI replied.

"You don't know?" Daniel asked.

The orb blinked again, "No, I do not. I am assigned to what you call Elysium. I have not been in contact with my creators since they left to the homeworld."

As he had said, Daniel had so many questions at the moment it wasn't even funny. This was an AI built by the Furlings, with the knowledge of the race he had wanted since he first found out they existed. But the fact of the matter was they didn't have time for that right now. What they needed to do...what they _had_ to do...was find the Furlings.

"Can you guide us to where your creators are?"

There was silence, before the orb of Sentinel blinked several times, "Yes. I am programmed with the codes that will allow you to find Furling vessels. I would require access to a vessel however."

"Thor?" Sam asked.

"Interfacing Sentinel with the _Hammond's_ systems will take no more than a day," the Asgard answered, "With the proper precautions to protect the ship."

A day...they could spend a day exploring Elysium...and then hope that this ancient AI could lead them where they needed to go...and help them find the elusive Furlings once and for all.

* * *

**AN: And there we go. Hope everyone liked the chapter! :D**


	10. Arc 1: Planning

**AN: Next chapter is here! I'm not quite as busy anymore, so hopefully the next one won't take too long either. Let's go! :D**

* * *

**2000 Hours, February 20th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Earth, Outside San Francisco**

* * *

"What _are_ they doing down there?"

"It appears to be a shipyard."

"Yeah, but for what? One of those toilet bowls?"

"I doubt that sir. The Ori don't seem like the type to build their best ships here."

"Especially with us raising havoc all over the place. Good point Hailey."

"It has to be Ha'tak then..."

Jack O'Neill nodded at that guess from his new partner, Commander Dare. Standing with the UNSC soldier and his own subordinates- Jennifer Hailey and Victor Kamarov -the little group looked down on a bustling Ori base, just outside San Francisco. The night was far darker than it should have been, with the large city in the distance lacking any artificial lights. San Francisco had been one of the first cities to be forcibly emptied...and it showed, in the almost eerie lack of lighting from it. The only light was the occasional fire, and the lights from what seemed to be an Ori shipyard. 'Seemed' to be, being the operative term there. It was nearly impossible to be sure, even with the awesome headsets the UNSC had provided.

Then again, that was why Jack was wearing full ODST armor, along with the Spetsnaz and SG-2. The armor had always been designed with stealth in mind, as the ODSTs _were_ special forces. The upgrades that being allied with the Sangheili provided, however, were another story. If a soldier outfitted in ODST armor didn't want to be seen...well, they wouldn't be seen. It was for this reason that Jack stood with the others, as the 'Rookie' scouted ahead.

"Unless the Ori are designing new ships," Hailey spoke up, breaking the temporary silence, a thoughtful tone to her voice.

Turning his head, Jack did dislike one feature of the armor...the damn visor kept him from using his more expressive features.

"Thought you said they wouldn't build their best ships?"

Hailey nodded, her own face hidden behind her visor, "Well sir...yes I did. But the Ori might be building new ships if they are smart. The Commander said the Ha'tak aren't that good against the Sangheili or our 304s."

"They aren't," Dare confirmed.

"And if the Ori are smart...they'll build new ships, more economical ones instead of the big ones."

That theory did rely on the Ori growing a brain...but it was certainly possible. And just made it all the more important they get into that dockyard. Skilled laborers had been vanishing from the camps that the Resistance was monitoring...and if the Ori were building new ships instead of Ha'tak, that could very well be _why_. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought though.

Before any more could be said though, the acknowledgement light in Jack's helmet went off. He still wasn't used to communicating that way, much preferring more _vocal_ methods. But he had learned awhile back that the Rookie wasn't the most...talkative...person. At least it was green...now he could get off his ass and do something.

"We're clear," Dare remarked, mostly for clarity.

"About time," Jack muttered.

He could tell that Hailey was sending him a bemused look, well used to the General's desire to be out _doing_ something. Jack just grinned behind his visor, as he pressed a button on the side of his suit.

All around him, the UNSC and Resistance forces rippled...and faded into the scenery. Covenant cloaking tech...this was something that General could have used back in the good old days. Sneaking around Goa'uld bases would have been _so_ much easier. Not to mention the Tok'ra would have given an arm and a leg for these cloaks.

"We all ready?" the General asked.

"Ready sir," Hailey replied.

"Of course," Kamarov added, the metallic click of a magazine entering a DMR empathizing the point.

Dare merely flashed her acknowledgement light, in full 'professional' mode.

"Okay then...let's get going."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Far below the officers, the recon element of the ODSTs looked out at the shipyard.

"They don't do anything not blindingly white eh Sarge?"

"Tell me about it...at least the Covenant weren't so in your face with their things."

"At least it makes them easier to identify."

"Can it back there," Gunnery Sergeant Buck sighed, "The cloaks don't make our voices go away."

"Roger."

At least the Rookie was being quiet, as he once again played the role of 'forward scout' he had done on Regret's flagship. It was in large part due to his skill in that role that the squad had gotten as far into the base as they had really. Couple the Rookie's stealth skill with Elite cloaks, and the Ori had no idea what was going on, in fact. The only soldiers the ODSTs had seen were woefully underequipped to deal with stealth infiltrations. Ori soldiers were all armed with nothing but their staves, and didn't even have basic night vision gear. Frankly, if it weren't for the effectiveness of those staves and sheer numbers, Ori soldiers weren't much of a threat on the ground.

The Lucians were little better. They had more convenient weaponry in the form of both home-built ballistic weaponry and appropriated Earth supplies. But for all that their weaponry was more orthodox- and useful -the Lucians had the same issue as the Ori. They didn't have any form of detection equipment, and by extension, couldn't see even the small ripples Covenant cloaking tech left in the dark.

"Heads up," Mickey broke in, "We've got a couple of...Rangers?"

"What?" Buck groaned.

"I ain't shitting you sir. I recognize the uniforms from O'Neill's guys. And they ain't prisoners either."

"Great...what do they have?"

"Well..."

The ODSTs pushed against a wall, using the natural shadows to further enhance their cloaks. Because as Mickey had pointed out, a pair of Army Rangers were moving through the area. Both were armed with M4 carbines, Zat pistols likely taken from the various stocks the SGC had set up, and most importantly...night vision. The question then became...what the _hell_ were Rangers doing working for the Ori?

"Those definitely aren't Lucians," the Sergeant muttered.

"Why would they be working with the Ori?" Dutch questioned his leader.

"Hell if I know," Buck sighed, "but we did know there were turncoats out there."

Of course, there was always the chance these were Lucians using appropriated gear. No matter what way you sliced it though...this was problematic.

"Can't see why anyone would _want _to work with those guys," Romeo muttered under his breath.

"There are bad eggs in any military," Buck replied, as the Rangers- or men wearing their uniforms at any rate -moved away from the hidden ODSTs, "give a man a lot of potential power, and some'll leap right at it. Like some of those ONI creeps."

Dutch snorted, "That was deep Sarge."

"Shut it."

Ignoring the chuckles from his squad, Buck moved up to where the- mercifully silent - Rookie was scanning the hallway. If he need proof that these cloaks were useful, he got it too. Buck could only barely tell that scanning the hall was what his newest squadmate was doing. And he could only tell _that_ much, due to years upon years of experience in dealing with Covenant forces. If he had lacked that experience...there wouldn't be even the slightest sign someone was there. Went a good way to prove that the Rook's nickname was pretty invalid these days.

That aside...

"Any sign of more guards?"

Rookie just shook his head slightly, toggling his negative light for good measure. Buck nodded slightly himself, as the squad continued forward. They were _inside_ the base proper now, groups of Ori soldiers patrolling the area. If it weren't for the fact the ODSTs were well aware that those staves could cut right through their armor, it would look almost like a medieval gathering. Well, that and the old M60 tanks and Lucian halftracks dotting the area. The Ori were clearly repurposing at least some Earth weaponry for their own needs then. Old weaponry to be fair...most of the 'modern'- pitiful antiques to the ODSTs admittedly -stuff would have been destroyed by the Ori when they took Earth or by the various militaries to prevent capture.

"Damn..."

That being said, the tanks and troops were rather secondary to the _other_ things sitting in the base. Namely, two Ha'tak under construction, with a third ship sitting between them. The sleek silver warship looked to be complete too...and was, in fact, a totally new design.

"Well...Rook, let the General know he can get in."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Within thirty minutes, Jack had reached the ODST squad. The men had set up a small post in a well-hidden area, watching for any Ori or Lucian forces. Buck was the first one to meet the officers, a surprisingly tense look on his face. Then again, considering what they were nearby...it wasn't hard to imagine why he was tense. The Ori innovating and designing a new ship...they were clearly learning. And if they got too fancy with their ships, then there could be a problem.

"So they were building new space guns?" Jack asked first, stepping inside the little hideaway.

"Yes sir," Buck replied, "Looks complete too."

"Damn...didn't expect that one."

Hailey sighed as she sat down, taking her helmet off, "Well, we should have sir. The Ori aren't the Goa'uld...and even Sokar and Anubis made those new flagships. Ori won't have any issue making new ships..."

"And they have all that Ascended crap," the General sighed, "Dare, you got any way to let your people know?"

"Not easily," the blonde replied, "we have slipspace communication systems, but it's not as fast as hyperspace and I wouldn't risk using it with all the Ori ships in orbit. If you still had a subspace relay..."

"Yeah, that was one of the first things the crazies hit."

"And because of that, we can't communicate easily with Reach."

The group lapsed into silence at that. No way to warn the Resistance- well, the non-Earth based one -about the new ship. And God only knew if this was the first of its class or not. Needless to say, it was not a good thing if this wasn't the first new Ori ship. Because if they started tossing new ships into battles, the space based Resistance would have no idea what to expect. If this ship was even half as good as a mothership...

Well, that could be a major issue.

"What if we steal it?" Mickey suggested, when it became apparent everyone else was quiet.

As one, all the heads in the area turned to the ODST, who shrugged, "What?"

"That's something I expected General O'Neill to suggest," Hailey replied.

Kamarov barked out a laugh, "_Da_, that is something I would expect of him."

"Well..." Jack began, before chuckling himself, "Y'know, I'm a bit upset I didn't suggest that first."

"Wouldn't be the first ship you've hijacked sir."

Dare looked between the others, shaking her head slightly. Sam Carter had warned her something like this may happen. She just hadn't _quite_ been prepared for it. Well, now she was seeing the look in Jack's eyes. The look of a patented 'O'Neill Plan' coming together. At least they had the absolute best- outside of Spartans -to pull it off...though it still seemed crazy. Trying to hijack an _Ori_ ship seemed insane, even by that standard. The 'crazies' as Jack continued to refer to them were not stupid. The one time SG-1 had hijacked a Mothership properly, it had been because Daniel was a Prior. It was true that this ship wasn't a Mothership...but if it still needed a Prior to operate properly, they were SOL to say the least.

Then again...capturing a brand new Ori warship could be quite the coup. Depending on what tech they had loaded the thing up with of course. Just getting the ship was a big coup in of itself, of course...since they would deny the Ori a ship. Getting the technology would be a bonus. The problem became...

"How would we get it off Earth?" Dare spoke up.

Jack frowned, "Good point."

It really was. Capturing the ship was one thing. Getting off Earth was another story, when the Ori _did_ have so many ships in orbit.

"The ship looks fast," Kamarov replied, looking out of the hideaway at the sleek ship in the distance.

"Couldn't we just jump from in the atmosphere?" Buck added, "I remember Mitchell saying Replicators could do that."

"They could," Jack confirmed, well-remembering his time in the Asgard galaxy.

"And the Ori are even more advanced," Hailey muttered, "It just might be possible sir."

The General nodded, "Well, I think we have to start planning then. Who's up for stealing an Ori ship?"

Nods went around the camp, as a plan began to come together. If they could hijack this ship...well, that was a goal to work towards.

* * *

**1200 Hours, February 21st, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Reach/Neo Tollan, Sangheili Base**

* * *

Far away from Earth, a pair of tall Jaffa strode towards an area of Reach that was isolated from any other civilization on the world. Hidden in the shadows of the Menachite Mountain, this large base was where the Sangheili had chosen to settle on the world. Far away from both the Tollan- whom were unused to non-human aliens -and the UNSC civilians both. In the latter case, this was as much for their own sake as the humans...who had come to this universe explicitly to get away from the Covenant. No matter that _these_ Elites were not going to attack them ever again. It had been decided long ago that it was just...better for everyone if the Sangheili remained apart from the humans for now.

The Jaffa, on the other hand, had no fear of the towering reptilian race. Familiar as they were with the Unas, there was not the instinctual fear of the Tollan. And having not encountered the Covenant at war, beyond Teal'c of course, they lacked the hate that the UNSC civilians bore. If anything, the Jaffa were highly fascinated by the Sangheili. This was a race so similar to their own...warriors at heart, who had served a false religion. The difference being, of course, that the Elites were still every bit as enamored by the Forerunner as they had ever been. They merely discounted the Prophet's teachings.

It was this similarity that had these Jaffa moving into the encampment, drawing curious looks from various former Covenant races.

"You are certain these...Sangheili...will agree?" Bra'tac asked, looking at his pupil.

Teal'c merely nodded, "Indeed. They have honor."

"Honor..." the older looking Jaffa stroked his chin, "is their honor..."

"Much the same as our own," Teal'c replied, "From what I have seen and experienced, the Sangheili are similar to the Jaffa in many ways. They will aid us."

"I hope you are correct old friend."

As the two Jaffa moved deeper into the base, a green armored Sangheili stepped in front of them. Even with the height advantage all members of his race had on humans- and Jaffa -it didn't garner more than a raised eyebrow from Bra'tac and Teal'c.

"The Fleetmaster has requested your presence," the towering warrior spoke, his mandibles clenched in clear dislike, "come."

At that, the Sangheili turned on his heel and moved towards the largest of the Covenant style buildings. The Jaffa didn't react to his dislike...there were still members of the Elite forces who had a strong dislike of humanity, whom the Jaffa were descended from. As such, they just followed him into the building, where more green armored Elites stood guard and went about the business of running their forces. It would have been impossible to tell their rank, unlike the old Covenant where everything was color coded...were it not for the stripes along each of their flanks. The one escorting them had blue stripes for instance, marking him as a Minor in the old system.

The only exception to this rule was the brilliant crimson armor of Fleetmaster Nar 'Saranee, who continued to wear his old Major armor as a badge of honor for his service under the Arbiter.

"Teal'c of the Jaffa," the Fleetmaster nodded, having become well-acquainted with the Jaffa by this point, "it is good to see you. You may leave."

That second statement was directed at the Minor, who did as he was told. The Fleetmaster just walked up to Teal'c, crossing his arm and inclining his head in the Sangheili manner.

"It is good to see you too Fleetmaster 'Saranee," Teal'c bowed slightly, "I have not introduced you formally to Master Bra'tac, who trained me."

"Teal'c has spoken high of you Master Bra'tac," Nar nodded, "It is an honor to meet you."

Bra'tac nodded back, "The honor is mine, if half of what I have heard of your people is true."

A deep chuckle came from the Sangheili, "I could say much the same about your race. Now, why have you come to our compound?"

Moving to a conference room, the Jaffa sat at a table while the Sangheili remained standing. His dark eyes looked out at his visitors, an unusual amount of curiosity for a Sangheili in them. Then again, Nar had always been a bit...odd...for a member of his race.

"We have come to request your aid," Teal'c began.

"Our aid?" the Fleetmaster replied.

"Indeed," Bra'tac nodded, "Your aid in a mission that we have been planning for some time."

Nar leaned forward, "I am curious...if you have been planning a mission, would you not go to your comrades? The _Odyssey_?"

"I trust Colonel Mitchell with my life, but the aid we require is not something the UNSC or SGC can provide," Teal'c shook his head slightly.

That, more than anything, got the Fleetmaster's attention. There was very little that the human portion of the Resistance could not do. They had more advanced weaponry, in the form of the Asgard weapons fitted to the BC-304s. The Spartans were a fearsome foe on the ground, even if their best teams- Noble and Blue -were both assigned on different missions at the moment. Not to mention they had more numbers than the Sangheili, neatly removing the major advantage the old Covenant had after the _Odyssey_ had appeared...numbers.

So why then would the Jaffa come to him for aid? Nar couldn't figure that out, as it didn't make any sense. Everything his people could do, the humans could do. And it made far more sense for the Jaffa to go to the familiar humans for aid, as opposed to the unfamiliar Sangheili and their allied races.

"What aid are you requesting?"

Teal'c crossed his arms, "We are planning on raiding Delmak."

"Delmak? I am unfamiliar with this term."

"Delmak was the capital of Sokar's Empire," Bra'tac explained, "Taken by Apophis, then Anubis and Ba'al. It currently is serving as a holding area for Jaffa who are unwilling to convert to the Ori."

Nar nodded, "You wish to free your people."

"Indeed," Teal'c nodded, "they are brave warriors. We could use their aid in the coming battles."

"I still do not see why you require my aid, however," the Sangheili would have frowned, were his mouth capable of the expression.

"The UNSC does not posses enough Spartans to perform this mission. I have seen how skilled your warriors are. If you are willing to provide them, I believe we will have a far greater chance of success."

That was a valid point. There was only a handful of Spartans not assigned to a mission at the moment. If the Jaffa were determined to raid an Ori world, they would need ground forces. Outside the Spartans, the Sangheili were the best option. Not to mention they would work well with the Jaffa, who shared so many similarities.

"I will provide what you need," Nar nodded slightly...it was well past the time his people began pulling their own weight.

Defeating the Ori was the mission all the Forerunner Universe forces had come to do. If helping the Jaffa worked towards that goal...well, it was clear what the Sangheili should do. And no Elite would turn down a potential battle, not one so honorable as rescuing comrades.

* * *

**AN: And there we go! No part from the Furling Hunt this time, but that'll continue soon enough. For now, we see what the others are up to. Hope everyone liked the chapter! :D**


	11. Arc 1: Hijacking an Ori Ride

**AN: Aaaaaaannnnddddd we're back.**

**I am terribly sorry it took so long everyone. :( :(**

**There wasn't any intention to take that long between updates, but I got _suuppperr_ busy, and it took way too long as a result. Hopefully that won't happen again...and at least this chapter turned out well I hope! :)**

* * *

**2200 Hours, February 23rd, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Earth, Outside San Francisco, Ori Shipyard**

* * *

"All right, everyone got the plan?"

"Get in, hit them hard, and take the ship?"

"Pretty much."

A round of chuckles ran through the small encampment, hidden out of sight of the Ori/Lucian forces. The eclectic mix of soldiers in the encampment all looked up at their overall commander, as he wore a small amused smile on his own face. Jack O'Neill, however amused he may have been by the reply, was not the leader for no reason however. He knew that it was _highly_ important, possibly the most important thing he had done since Earth fell, to capture this new ship. If what Commander Dare had said was even partially true, the spaceborne Resistance had an ever so slight edge on the Ori. Unfamiliar, but powerful, ships from another universe and several hundred years in the future were a lot better than a handful of scratch-built 'battlecruisers' that Earth had tried to fight with. Toss in the continuing upgrades with both Asgard and Forerunner technology- and to some extent ingenuity -and the Ori were being pushed back somewhat.

That could all change with this new ship. It was smaller than the old toilet bowls, but _size _didn't really mean much with this level of technology. Just look at how much more effective a 304 with Asgard beams was compared to a much larger Covenant ship. Or, at least that was how Dare had explained it. On top of that, _any_ innovation from the Ori was a very bad thing. The Goa'uld had never bothered for the most part. They had never pushed out new ships outside of two flagship designs, built by Goa'uld who _had_ to make them from their isolation...Sokar and Anubis. That had left their main fleets vulnerable once technology of their enemies caught up. The Ori...were learning in a way the snakeheads never did. And _that_ was potentially scary. It was little secret that even Dare admitted the Ori could likely outproduce the Resistance, for the foreseeable future. If they put together better ships in addition to more of them...

Even Jack, by no definition a naval officer, could understand the problem.

"All joking aside," the old General continued, smile turning into a light frown, "call off as I list off your roles. Kamarov!"

"_Da_?"

"Akula will hold the outside of the ship against Ori attacks. You'll have the Javelins, in case they bring in those old junkheaps of M60s."

"May I request UNSC launchers? I believe you called them 'Jackhammers'?" the Russian turned to look at Dare, across from him in the gathering.

"Indeed," Dare replied, "And that shouldn't be a problem. We have enough, as they aren't going to be any use inside that ship."

Jack nodded, "Works for me. Next, the Marines will hold with Akula, but also cover the entrances to the ship."

"Roger."

"And finally, the ODSTs and SG-2 will take the fight _into_ the ship. We both have experience taking over hostile ET ships."

A chorus of acknowledgments rang out again, as the group split up to their designated staging areas. For his part, Jack sighed softly. That was a typical briefing from him...everyone _knew_ their jobs, he was just making sure of that. This was anything but a typical mission though...it had been years since he attempted a takeover of a hostile ship.

And the only experience in doing so against the _Ori_ wasn't exactly promising. They didn't have Danny around to turn into a Prior. It really wasn't a surprise when Dare walked up to him, knowing that much.

"Do you believe this will work?" the ODST asked without prompting.

The General shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not."

"That's about what I expected. You really do remind me of Cameron Mitchell."

Snorting, Jack shook his head, "That kid tries too hard to be like me sometimes."

Dare didn't dispute the point, though her normally hard mouth twitched up slightly, "Perhaps. I was asking a serious question however. _Do _you believe this will work?"

That...was a good question, in all honesty. Even with his experience taking Ha'tak, Jack really didn't know how to answer it. And it wasn't like his record _there _was really good. The only Ha'tak they'd held for any length of time was Cronus'. Apophis' had been overrun by Replicators and self-destructed. Anubis' had crashed into the ocean. And even Cronus' old one had been crashed into Delmak. Soo...Dare had a right to be a bit leery over the situation. Hell, _Jack_ was to be totally honest. He was eager to try stealing a ship with new space guns as usual.

But Ori ships were nothing like Goa'uld ones. Get to the bridge of a Ha'tak, and you've got everything you need. Ori Motherships at the least required a more...magical touch. Namely, a Prior or Adria. Otherwise, you ain't getting that ship moving, no matter what rewiring you do. Because if Sam Carter couldn't get past the block, no one could. Now, _this_ ship though...who knew. Which was really the only reason Jack was trying to steal it instead of just placing a bunch of bombs and getting out.

"It might work, if the Ori didn't put in a Prior block."

A frown crossed the Commander's face, "A _Prior block_?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded, "The only times we've gotten on Motherships, we couldn't do anything without a Prior around. They've got the things keyed to only work with one of them doing the commanding. Somehow."

"Hmm..." Dare tapped her chin thoughtfully, "That sounds like a genetic lock. I wonder..."

"Eh?"

In response, the blonde pulled out a small circular disk from one of her armor pouches. As Jack raised an eyebrow in the Teal'c manner, a blue light shot up from the disk. Quickly coalescing into a...

"Viking?" Jack asked dully, "You have an Asgard hologram?"

_"I understand the confusion, as I have met the Asgard,"_ the hologram spoke, _"However, I am not one of them. I am Odin, UNSC AI designation ODI 0525-0."_

It was, perhaps, understandable when Jack grimaced slightly. He hadn't exactly had great times with AI in the past, to say the least. The Replicators were always a bit of a sore point.

"I assume you were listening in Odin?" Dare asked, a small smile at Jack's look.

_"Of course,"_ Odin nodded, _"it is fascinating to believe the Ori have a genetic lock on their warships. It is a valid security measure, even if it limits their tactical utility should something happen to the Prior."_

Jack couldn't help a snort, "Killing a Prior is harder than killing one of their ships sometimes."

_"So I have observed. In any case, if what you are claiming is true, there are only two options I can identify for why a Prior is needed to use one of the ships. A genetic lock, keyed specifically to the Prior genetic code. I believe this is similar to Ancient technology?"_

"Righto. You have to have the Ancient Gene to even make their toys do anything."

_"It would make a certain amount of sense that Ori technology is similar. However different they are now, the Ancients and Ori descend from the same common origin. On the other hand, the only other option would be the ships requiring the Prior's _energy_ to function. If that is the case, we will never be able to steal one. If, however, it is a genetic lock like the Ancients, we would merely need to get a sample of Prior DNA to take the ship, and the lock could be removed at a latter date."_

That...could work. The problem though, was actually getting hold of Prior DNA. Even getting close to one would get most people horribly murdered. Jack had seen some pretty nasty stuff from Priors...bodies should never contort that way. Nor should a disease come so fast and so deadly. And even trying to snipe a Prior was not guaranteed to work by any definition. He hadn't been joking when he said it was sometimes harder to kill one of the pale brigade than a toilet bowl. The Ori were very serious about keeping Priors alive. It wouldn't do to have their appointed messengers offed by the dirty heretics, now would it? It did make it more difficult to get any blood from one though.

Granted they had cooked up that anti-Prior thing...but all the devices had been lost with the SGC and Area 51. So they were back at square one in that regard. Jack somehow doubted even UNSC weapons could hurt a Prior without that device.

"Small problem. How exactly you plannin' on getting DNA from one?" he pointed that out in fact.

Dare just reached into another pocket on her uniform, her hand coming up with another disk. This one was rather more familiar to Jack however. It was clearly the same design as the Anti-Prior device they had cooked up. If a bit smaller, and slightly different. Granted the UNSC probably was more than advanced enough to miniaturize the thing further given enough time...

"That what I think it is?" the General asked eagerly.

"Yes," the woman answered, replacing it in her pocket, "every squad has at least one anti-Prior device attached. We never know if we might run into one of them, and it's better safe than sorry. So all we need to do is find a Prior, and we'll be able to take him down."

"Good chance they'll have one on that ship if it's almost done."

The Commander nodded, "That's what I assumed as well. We should be going, the sooner we move the less likely the ship will launch before we can make our move."

* * *

Some time later, the strike team had taken their positions around the Ori warship and the incomplete Ha'tak flanking it. The theory that it was complete and nearly ready to launch had only grown more likely as the teams moved into their posts as well. There was a near-constant stream of workers loading supplies on the thing, and an unusually heavy guard stood covering those workers. Six old M60s and the same amount of Lucian halftracks, with at least a company worth of soldiers supporting them, in fact. There were clearly some defectors working among the soldiers as well, considering that the tanks and machineguns had interlocking fields of fire, and there was barbed wire spread across most of the field. The theory that those Rangers had been, well, _Rangers_ was looking more and more likely.

If the Ori had trained soldiers and started learning tactics from them...the war was going to get a lot harder. The main advantage either branch of the Resistance had was the fact that the Ori soldiers didn't have a real grasp of tactics. They took cover and could flank, but that was about as far as it went. If they started playing smarter, then the war could be a lot more difficult.

Nothing for it though.

_"Akula is in position. We have the tanks locked."_

_"Fireteam One is ready to support Akula."_

_"Fireteam Two locked and loaded, we'll hit the docking bay as soon as Akula fires."_

_"ODSTs ready and waiting."_

Standing with the last of the teams to sign in, Jack narrowed his eyes, "Go."

From different positions along the 'front', Russian soldiers popped out of cover, Jackhammer rockets mounted on their shoulders. The homing-variety launchers quickly locked onto the large-and-hot targets that the M60s provided with their running engines. One missile of two targeted each tank, with the other one of the pair quickly redirected onto the halftracks. Smoke trails followed the far-future weapons, as they angled directly into the weaker side-armor of the obsolete tanks. Not that it would have mattered if they had gone for the side, rear, or front of the M60s. Armor designed to stop Soviet tank shells of the 1950s and '60s was absolutely useless against weapons designed and deployed in the 2500s.

Each of the Ori-controlled tanks went up in flames, thick oily black smoke belching from the war machines as only a handful of crew crawled out, burning uniforms adding to the inferno. Secondary explosions blew the turrets off two of the tanks, crushing unfortunate soldiers who had no idea what was happening. They were the lucky ones in a way...it was a quick death, before the sound of gunfire that was totally unfamiliar to even the Lucians and collaborationists began to ring out. By now, Jack's forces had been reequipped with older UNSC standard weapons...MA5C rifles, M7 submachine guns, 'sniper pistols' as the General had nicknamed them...the weapons may have been old by Forerunner Universe standards, but against the guards at this base...

They might as well have been the scythe of Death himself.

"God I love this thing!" O'Neill shouted joyously, firing his own M7S variant. It reminded him almost of a P90, with the scope making it more accurate. Not to mention the cartridge _tore_ through Ori armor like it was tissue paper. As it should, being designed to pierce Covenant shielding.

"I'm glad you approve," Buck sounded amused as he fired his own MA5.

"Damn right I do. Wish we had these babies in the old days."

As Jack said that, another flash of light came to life in the Ori lines...an incendiary grenade, tossed from Dare who had cloaked and moved to a position atop scaffolding. Screams echoed through the night, as three Lucian soldiers ran out, wildly patting at the flames spreading across their uniforms. Sniper rounds from Kamarov- likely, the man was a good shot -put them out of their misery, as the remaining Lucians broke and ran. They weren't professional soldiers...nor as loyal to the cause as Ori. The stave-wielding soldiers stood their ground however, blue lances of light shooting into the night from their weaponry. Several took cover behind the burning tank hulks, showing a level of tactics better than the average Jaffa at least.

It didn't matter. These soldiers could have been as good as average special forces, they were still up against ODSTs, Spetsnaz, and the absolute best the US military could offer.

"Move up," Jack spoke into the radio built-into his helmet.

Covering and suppressing fire came from the handful of soldiers equipped with the UNSC version of the venerable SAW. The deadly crossfire forced the Ori forces to duck and cover, or risk having their helmeted heads blown off, something that the powerful weapon was very capable of doing. With this cover fire, the remainder of the strike team moved forward. The ODSTs had cloaked, angling for the warship first...they had some experience in taking warships, if Buck's tale of taking a Covenant Assault Carrier- whatever the hell that was -was to be believed. SG-2 moved with the Marines, with Akula flanking from a different direction. With the combination of suppressing fire and more accurate fire from the weaponry carried by the strike team members moving forward...the Ori were quickly pushed into a smaller and smaller pocket.

"For the..." one soldier began to shout, likely for a suicide charge.

"Oh for..." Jack complained, not in the mood to gun down a banzai charge.

Luckily for him, another Jackhammer lanced out, throwing the remaining soldiers in every direction. Sending a quick nod at Kamarov's man, the General sprinted to the open docking bay, as the marines and Akula took up their covering positions. It was only a matter of time before every Ori soldier in the base came running for the ship now that _that_ much noise had been made. They would need to find the Prior and take the thing quickly. Or else get bombs placed and get the hell out of dodge- hijack an Al'kesh? -if the program Odin had cooked up didn't work.

_"Hurry General. I haven't located the Prior as of yet, but we have to secure the bridge."_

Dare's voice rang in his helmet, prompting Jack to send a nod at the rest of SG-2. Hailey- identifiable if only by her petite stature -sent a nod back, waving her team forward. The elite soldiers moved into the dimly lit ship, only dim blue 'torches' providing any illumination. It looked just like the inside of a mothership according to the reports he had received...all gloomy and old-fashioned. At least it wasn't gaudy gold like the interior of Ha'tak. Even if that gaudy interior had made it easier to take down Jaffa since it made hiding impossible...

_Focus Jack!_

Forcing his wandering mind back on track, O'Neill activated his own cloak as SG-2 did the same. The team moved quietly through the ship, occasionally jamming a knife through the gap in an Ori soldiers armor, or shooting one between the eyes with a suppressed pistol. There weren't many however...clearly, the Ori hadn't anticipated a hostile invasion at the heart of their shipyard. Lucky for the Resistance, not so lucky for the crazies. All they had to do now was find the Prior then...securing the ship was clearly not going to be hard.

Actually _controlling_ it, was another story entirely.

"Any sign of the Prior?" Jack whispered into his radio.

_"No..."_ Dare's voice trailed off, _"Wait a moment. I see blue light, unlike the torches."_

Wincing slightly, the General picked up his pace in the direction of the amber light on his motion tracker that was the ODST commander, "That's the staff. You sure these cloaks are good enough to keep a Prior clueless?"

There was silence, before, _"No, I can't be certain. We've never had the chance to test Covenant cloaks on a Prior before."_

"Then do not, I repeat do _not_, engage him alone. Make sure we've got him covered from all sides!"

He had seen far too many failed attempts to take a Prior down. Jack had no desire to see it happen again, not on his watch. Priors got downright _nasty_ when they got attacked. Especially if the attack was innovative and got their attention. The 'holy men' were not above cruel and unusual torture if it got them the answers they desired. And so far as he knew no UNSC soldiers had ever even _seen_ one in person, let alone get captured. He couldn't let this be the first time.

_"Roger."_

At least Dare understood that, as Jack ran as fast as he could without alerting the Prior or any other Ori forces. SG-2 was right behind him, Hailey quickly tapping away at the anti-Prior device she had been given right before the raid began. It was pure luck that both Dare and Buck had theirs...his Carter 2.0 was carrying the latter, since the ODST had waved it off as 'we've got Veronica's, why would we need two?'. Lucky lucky lucky.

"I see the light," Jennifer spoke up, panting slightly.

"So do I," Jack nodded, slowing down at the flash of blue light...unearthly blue light.

Rounding the last corner before the flare, he saw the familiar milky-white skin of a Prior. The man was pacing in front of what looked like an Ori Commander, rattling off orders to 'burn the heretics with holy fire'. Clearly, this man was a new one to the whole 'Prior' business. Most didn't act in such a stereotypical manner. It did have a benefit though...the man was paying precisely _zero_ attention to anything else going on. That would make sneaking up on him significantly easier at least. Looking back over his shoulder, he couldn't see Hailey...but he nodded nonetheless, flashing the green light in his helmet. There was a slight flicker of movement, that could only be his 2IC moving forward. She had to get a bit closer for the anti-Prior device to work...one of the few downsides to the device, even upgraded, being its low range. Priors were arrogant sons of bitches though...they wouldn't react until, and unless, they notice the lack of power.

Holding his breath, Jack waited for the next acknowledgement light. He needn't have bothered...

"What?!"

For the light in the Prior's staff went out. The man stared at his dull staff in shock, shock matched on the Commander's face. Shock that would never _leave_ their faces, as Jack fired a bullet through the Prior's chest, while Dare did the same to the Commander. Red blossomed on their robes...before the two crumpled to the ground. And with the anti-Prior device active, there was no burst of flame signifying the death of the Prior...to prevent the body from being captured. Cut off from the Ori- or Adria -the Prior's staff _couldn't_ immolate itself or his body.

"Well, that worked," the General deadpanned, walking carefully up to the Prior, kicking his staff away just to be safe.

"I find it hard to believe how hard it is to fight them without the device," Dare added, "then again, I don't think I should be complaining."

"Nah...be thankful it was this easy. Now we just have to lug his sorry ass up to the bridge."

Dare nodded, "Right. Buck?"

"Why do _I_ have to carry him?"

"Just do it! We don't have time to waste."

The ODST came into view, shaking his helmeted head, "Yeah, yeah, I get the point."

Holstering his MA5, the Sergeant pulled the Prior's limp body, and tossed it over his shoulder. Grunting slightly at the weight, he gestured at O'Neill, "Lead the way General."

Jack frowned, "I've never been on an Ori ship!"

"Well neither have we!"

Acknowledging the point, the General sighed and began trekking in the direction of the bridge. Assuming that an Ori ship was organized anything like a 304 or Ha'tak, anyway.

_-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-_

Luckily for him, as it turned out, the direction Jack had picked proved to be the correct one. The strike team came out onto a circular bridge, dim fire-light shining through the expansive windows from the flaming tanks and halftracks. Along with the light of tracers...as the Ori made a concerted effort to take back the ship. Forcing his eyes away from the window, Jack couldn't help but let out an approving whistle though. The Ori had at least _some_ style with their warships. The consoles lining the circular room were utilitarian, yes, but they were _functional consoles_ as opposed to the single thing a Goa'uld would use. And don't even get him started on what Atlantis had said Wraith ships were like. There was even a Captain's chair!

...though, if the dim lights on said chair were any indication, it might be like its Ancient counterpart. If so, they _would_ need the Prior's DNA to get the ship to do anything. Hopefully it wouldn't require a live Prior or they were completely SOL, even as Buck's team planted charges if they needed to run for it.

_"You can set the Prior down,"_ Odin spoke, getting a relieved sigh from Buck, _"Get a sample of his blood and place it on my holopad if you will."_

A sigh that quickly came back, as the man pulled a piece of bandage from the medkit every ODST carried. Dabbing it in the blood of the Prior- nasty looking blood, darker than it should have been -and placed it on Odin's pad. There was the hum of machinery, as the AI examined the DNA at a rate that only a UNSC Smart AI could manage. Odin wasn't at Cortana's level, but he was no slouch. Within a couple minutes he had the Prior's genetic code catalogued, and ready for use. The only question was...

Would it work?

_"Place me on the chair," _the AI continued, _"I will require physical contact to infiltrate the systems properly."_

"Roger."

Dare did as asked, Odin slipping into the Ori computer network.

_"Fascinating...this is unlike any computer I have seen. More advanced than the Covenant battlenet, but not quite at the sophistication of the Asgard Core or the Ecumene. It is still highly advanced however...hacking this without any help would take hours. However..."_

"Yes...?" Jack prodded.

_"With the genetic 'key' I have access to most systems. There appear to be some that are still hard-locked to the Ori Staff, and would take time to bypass...time we don't have. However, I believe I can access the sublight engines, shields, and hyperdrive. We will not be able to fire on Ori vessels that attempt to block our escape, but we should be able to _make_ the escape at the least."_

"Well get her movin then!"

There was a flash of light, as the Ori bridge came to life, despite the lack of any crew. A rumble ran through the vessel, the new engines coming to life for what might be the first time.

_I hope the damn things don't give out on us!_

Toggling his radio, Jack looked back at the window as SG-2 took stations that they didn't really know how to use.

"Kamarov! Get aboard quickly, this train is leaving town!"

_"Roger! Move, move, move!"_

The moment the sound of the hatch closing echoed on the other end of the radio, Jack turned to the seat where Odin's pad still sat, "Get us out of here."

_"As you command."_

The elegant warship took the sky, powerful engines frying unfortunate soldiers attempting to board it...and blowing a hole through the thin plating of the Ha'tak that was still being built by its side. Quickly taking to the air, Jack felt a grin cross his face at the sensation. He had left good people at Bastion to run the Resistance on Earth...but right now, he was leaving. Leaving to find Hank and Mitchell, and get some more help for Earth. It wouldn't be quick, but with the secrets this ship held...maybe, just maybe, they could figure out a way to counter Ori tech.

Now, all she needed was a name. And of course, there was only one name that Jack O'Neill could accept.

"Take the _Enterprise_ into hyperspace Odin."

And it was about damn time he got to name a ship that, as the purple window of hyperspace opened over San Francisco Bay...before the new warship vanished into it.

* * *

**AN: And there we go. I'll admit I winged it a bit with the Ori 'genetic lock' thing, but it was the only way I could see them hijacking the ship working. And let's be honest here...there wasn't a chance in hell Jack wasn't going to take advantage of a chance to name a ship _Enterprise_ :P**

**I hope my readers are still around...**


	12. Arc 1: Reunion

**AN: Sorry for another delay everyone... :(**

**Busy busy busy...as usual. I don't like it, but *shrug* not much I can do. I'll make sure to update as fast as I can though!**

* * *

**0900 Hours, February 26th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Deep Space, USS _Enterprise_**

* * *

"How long is it going to take anyway? We've got this fancy ship and we can't even do anything with it yet."

"It is frustrating General, but until we can be certain the Ori can't track us..."

"We can't go see anyone else, yeah I know. That 'Cole' thing is useful, but damn if it isn't frustrating having to sit in the middle of nowhere like this."

There was no argument from Dare, as Jack O'Neill sighed. He was currently seated in the Captain's chair of the Ori ship now known as _Enterprise_. It had been nearly two days since they had fled Earth, and as of yet, they were still alone. The ODSTs had been quite clear on that point...until they could make sure that it was impossible for the Ori to track their errant ship, they couldn't risk going anywhere near Resistance bases. The greatest strength of the Resistance was the fact that the Priors didn't know where their bases were...which allowed for strikes without putting the infrastructure and civilians needed to support the fleet at risk. As such, the Cole Protocol had been put into effect even in forces not UNSC in origin.

It certainly had its advantages. That didn't mean it didn't annoy Jack to just sit waiting for Odin to scan each and every bit of the _Enterprise_ and her computers for tracking devices.

_What are the odds that the crazies even put a tracking chip in here somewhere? Not like their ships ever get hijacked anyway._

Frustrated or not, he did understand the utility of the matter though.

"Have we found _anything_ odd here?" didn't stop him from asking though.

"As of yet, no," Dare replied, studying a datapad, "some of the supplies are more fitting a flagship than a regular warship, but nothing else is out of the ordinary from what we know of Ori warships."

"So we stole a flagship?"

The Commander nodded, "Quite likely, yes."

"Huh, haven't done that in awhile."

Raising an eyebrow, the blonde chose not to comment on that, instead continuing her list, "Weapons are still locked down tight. Odin believes it will require a total stripping of the computer systems to gain access to them. Shields, hyperdrive and the realspace thrusters are all running properly. There are enough supplies aboard to last several months with proper rationing, and we've also found a supply of Staves and armor."

"Guess we hit the jackpot then," Jack grinned, "Other than the space guns being locked down. No way around that?"

"None that we've found. The Ori seemed to be quite determined that the weapons couldn't be turned against their own ships, only a Prior Staff can access them. We would have torn out the old systems anyway, but until we can reach a friendly world we can't shoot back."

The General sighed at that, returning his gaze to the stars outside the small windows. It wasn't exactly a good feeling to be stuck in a ship that couldn't shoot back. Not that the crews of Earth's warships had been much better off...shooting what amounted to popguns at the Ori and all. Even so, _he_ really didn't enjoy the feeling. For all that Jack had wanted a ship to name _Enterprise_, he didn't really want to be flying his flag, so to speak. He was a ground pounder first, pilot second, and ship commander in a far distant third. He'd rather be fighting the Ori on the ground...there at least he was in more control over his own fate, able to shoot back and do a damn good job of it.

Here? He was about as useful as a third wheel. Nothing that he could do, being as Jack wasn't any good with technology like this.

_"In any event, I have isolated the weapons already,"_ Odin chimed in, the Viking avatar appearing on a newly installed holopad.

"Why?" O'Neill asked.

_"If a system is keyed directly to the staff, it is far more likely to be a place where a tracking program may be encrypted. By isolating it from the computer at large, I can prevent any latent programing from sending a message. It is a crude method, but without dedicated technicians I cannot do more. Major Hailey is a valuable aid, but she is not a team."_

"Well you found anything else that would keep us sitting here?"

_"No. I believe the Ori never truly expected a ship to be taken from the inside, not when the Prior's DNA is needed. When they have a failsafe that destroys the body, that is an understandable belief,"_ there was a small hint of smugness in the AI's voice now, _"however, it means they lack even the rudimentary defenses the Covenant have, beyond the Genetic Lock."_

Jack nodded, "Why're we still sitting around then?"

_"Procedure. The Cole Protocol is far stricter on captured warships than UNSC vessels."_

"The potential of a warship being tracked to a colony was too high," Dare elaborated, "It was viewed as safer to always have a dedicated team sweep a captured warship for any bugs or other programs before moving it to a colony. We don't have the luxury here, but that just means Odin requires even more time to scan the ship and make sure we aren't being tracked."

"On that note..."

A new male voice drew attention from the AI to the entrance to the bridge. Buck was standing, helmetless, with a piece of equipment slung over his shoulder. The ODST smiled slightly, as he dropped said equipment with a clang. The dull grey color scheme clearly indicated Ori origin, as he kicked the burnt piece away with his boot.

"Found this down in the hangar. Hailey seemed to think it was important to security," Buck shrugged, "Most of what she said flew over my head."

Dare sighed, "I know you're smarter than that Buck."

"But I'm not a scientist or engineer."

"Point," the commander rubbed her face, "So, this was part of their security apparatus?"

"Apparently."

Looking between the two, Jack poked the burnt metal, "This mean we can leave now?"

He was aware he sounded impatient. Fact was, the General _was_ getting impatient. Only so long he could sit around doing nothing before he wanted to get out and fight again. Especially where the Ori were involved.

"Odin?" Dare just sounded tired of everything.

_"I believe that the ship is clear,"_ the AI replied, _"Though I would recommend a rendezvous at Tollana instead of leaving for Reach. A dedicated team may uncover something I missed."_

"So, Tollana?"

The one woman on the bridge nodded slightly, "Yes. I should warn you though General...it is not a pretty sight."

Jack sighed, "Kinda figured as much. Well, get us there Odin."

_"Roger that. Activating hyperdrive."_

With that said, the _Enterprise_ lurched back into hyperspace. It's destination was the same place that the spaceborn Resistance had truly begun. A dead world, but one with moral significance nonetheless. It was safer than taking the ship to Reach without a dedicated team looking it over, but it would allow for what Jack O'Neill really wanted.

A reunion with the other members of his old team.

* * *

**1300 Hours, February 26th, 2008 (Military Calendar)/**

**Tollana Orbit, USS _Odyssey_**

* * *

"Remind me again why we're sitting here?" Cam Mitchell asked his crew.

"A rendezvous with Commander Dare's team," his new XO replied.

"I know _that_," the Colonel rolled his eyes, "I meant, why _us_ in particular? Shouldn't we be raiding the Ori or something?"

"What he said," Vala added from the windows.

There was a round of chuckles from the crew. By now it was an even more eclectic mix of UNSC regulars who had served with the ship since Reach- the first Reach -a handful of Jaffa, and refugees from various worlds. All of them were well-familiar with their Commander by now however, and equally aware that it was actually _okay_ to show amusement with him. Hell, Cam _encouraged_ them to laugh at him. He wanted to keep morale up, and the best way to do that was to laugh on occasion. Sure, he'd prefer it not being _him_ that got the laughs, but hey, if it worked it worked. And right now, they needed every boost they could get.

Sam's group had dropped off the proverbial radar recently. According to both Thor and Grieving Light there was a communications deadzone where the ships had gone, and it wouldn't be possible to communicate beyond couriers...who wouldn't be able to find them anyway. With the Resistance's resources already spread thin as is, they couldn't afford to send any search parties either. All that could be done was hope things were okay.

So, to say that Cam was a _bit_ frustrated with his current predicament would be an understatement. He would far rather be out looking for Sam, than waiting to meet up with Dare.

"Hyperspace portal opening," his Tollan sensor officer reported.

"About time."

Far away from the _Odyssey_, the purple-ish tint of a hyperspace portal appeared. Promptly spitting out...

Vala blinked when the portal faded away, "That's an Ori ship Mitchell..."

"Damn it," Cam cursed, "I noticed. Shields up! What're we looking at here?"

"A new model sir!"

Now that he looked, Mitchell could see that easily enough. This ship was about half the size of a toilet bowl- still significantly larger than his own 304 -and a lot sleeker. Lean lines swept forward from a wide stern, creating an almost dagger shape, were it not for the ship being taller than it was wide. The typical Ori 'light' floated in a ring at the center of the vessel, while the bow tapered to its point. He didn't need pilot's eyes to see the massive weapon mount on that bow either. Even on new ships, certain things didn't change.

Clearly, that was one of them.

"We're not reading any weapons," the Tollan woman continued.

"What do you mean no weapons?"

"Correction, no charged weapons...sir."

_Why in the hell wouldn't they have weapons charged? The Ori never go to a party without charging those weapons up. Especially not when we can hurt them now._

Before Cam could put more thought into that question, his _comm_ officer decided to jump in. The man looked confused, as he turned to his Captain.

"Sir, we're receiving a message in UNSC code from the ship...err...the _Enterprise, _according to the message."

Now, the Colonel hadn't been in the SGC long before his little jaunt to another universe. But even _he_ knew of one little quirk of its most famous- or infamous, depending on who you asked -member.

"Don't tell me...Dare managed to find O'Neill and they hijacked that ship?" Cam asked dryly, slumping in his seat.

"Uh...yes, exactly that sir. How did...?"

Cam couldn't help but snort, "It's a running joke back at the SGC. Jack O'Neill always tried to get a ship named _Enterprise_. He tried it with _Prometheus_ and each and every 304 we built after her. If Dare managed to find him, I can believe they figured out how to hijack one of those monsters. Somehow."

"I've never understood that," Vala added, "I wouldn't name a ship _Enterprise_ of all things."

"It's a pop culture thing," the Colonel waved a hand lazily, "I am a bit jealous though. How'd they pull off stealing a _new_ Ori ship when we couldn't get a toilet moving?"

That was a question that would require actually _talking_ with O'Neill. As such, Cam pressed a couple keys on his own chair, getting a visual comm link set up with the other warship. And, surprise, surprise...showing Jack sitting in the captain's seat of the Ori ship. Dare was next to him in full-armor, minus her helmet. Come to think of it, even the old General was kitted out in ODST armor. Lucky son of a bitch.

_"Mitchell!"_ Jack smirked at his 'counterpart', _"They finally gave you Odyssey? Nice."_

"I'd say you've got the nicer ship General," Cam replied, a similar expression on his own face, "How in the hell did you manage that?"

_"Odin here"_ the General in question pointed at an AI 'sitting' next to him, _"Figured out the Ori are a lot like the Ancients. Need Prior DNA to get one of these babies moving. Still can't use the weapons though."_

Vala snorted, "Well that explains the lack of weaponry being pointed at us."

_"You let _her_ on the bridge Mitchell?"_

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

As amusing as the glaring contest- well, Vala was glaring at O'Neill -was, Mitchell held up a hand, "Later Vala. General, is that ship fully operational?"

_"More or less. Can't use the weapons as I just said, but otherwise she's a beauty. Think you can get a team of techies over here so we can get moving again? The Ori might pop up again and we can't fight back."_

"Not a problem," Cam replied, "In fact, I'll head over myself."

While it wasn't to the same extent, Cam Mitchell _was_ like Jack O'Neill in the way he hated being cooped up on a ship. He was more or less forbidden from going on ground missions without support. And outright forbidden from going with Spartans. But a little jaunt over to a captured ship with the most legendary officer in SGC history? That wasn't a problem.

Besides, if he was stuck on the same ship as Vala for much longer he might start going crazy.

_HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG-HSG_

"Nice ship you've got here sir."

"She's a beauty, I can give the Ori that. Though the torches kind of ruin the image."

"Point. How many people you got on here?"

"About fifty."

Cam looked at the older officer, an eyebrow going up, "You're running a ship this big with fifty people?"

"Actually, it's mostly Odin running the ship," Jack shrugged...though he still looked a bit uncomfortable at the idea, "No one else here other than Hailey has any training in running a spaceship more complex than a Ha'tak, so he handles most everything for us."

_"Indeed. Though I am looking forward to the technical team arriving. I would enjoy examining the data in the core more than running every system myself."_

Jack sighed, sending a sidelong glance at his younger counterpart, "You know, for an AI based on a Norse God he's really...not like one at all."

"All AI are like that," Mitchell snorted again, "You should see Cortana. Though Odin bugs the Asgard more than most of them, since he's supposed to be mimicking them. Or mimicking the Gods they mimic...I can never keep that straight. Gives me a headache."

"I can believe that. Speaking of the Asgard though...where's Thor? Figured they'd be around when we arrived, if they're helping you guys out for once."

Silence fell at that question, as Cam looked toward the ground. The subject of the Asgard was still more than a little of a sore point for him. He hadn't been really familiar with the little guys, not like the veterans of the SGC. But he had liked them the few times he saw one. And they were really nice guys in general, so being the one there when they collectively committed suicide had been far from a fun experience for him. Sam had cried quite a bit at the time. Even knowing that the little guys were technically still 'alive' in the Asgard Core(s) was small comfort until they really started ramping up the Replicator/Android bodies for them.

Something that would take a bit of time, to say the least.

"The Asgard..." Cam winced slightly, "Well, we were asked there because they were dying sir."

"Dying? The Asgard?" Jack frowned, "Thought they just got new bodies when that happened?"

"Normally, but...it flew over my head, but apparently they were all dying from genetic issues that couldn't be fixed. So they decided to..."

The General shook his head slightly, before his shoulders slumped, "Mass suicide?"

"More or less. They blew up their homeworld after giving us all their tech. And their minds apparently. The Asgard are still...sorta alive."

Understandably, O'Neill's shoulders went back up at that, "Hah! Knew those little guys wouldn't die that easily. So they're all crystals right now?"

"More or less anyway. We're working on new robot bodies now."

It was Jack's turn to snort. The idea of the _Asgard_ using robot's for bodies was just so...wrong as to be funny in a way. They hated robotics from what he remembered, though to be fair, fighting a massive army of self-constructing robot bugs from hell would do that to anyone. At least the little guys were still alive in a sense though. Losing the Asgard would be just as bad as losing Earth had been in a way. They were always there when you needed help...and it just wouldn't feel _right_ to imagine a universe without Thor and friends around.

While musing on that subject, the Colonel and General walked onto the bridge of _Enterprise_, the _Odyssey_ clearly floating nearby. Beyond the two ships was the desolate wasteland that was the fate of Tollana. Mitchell was used to it by now...as used as anyone could get to seeing a world ruined by orbital bombing anyway. For Jack, it was another reminder of what they had lost. Sure, the Tollan had been wiped out by Anubis not the Ori. But the reminder of their deaths didn't sit well with him.

"I'll never get used to that," the General sighed, "Damn shame to see the Tollan get wiped out."

"Technically we've got about ten thousand of them on Reach," Cam supplied, "None that you knew though, sir."

"So Narim didn't make it?"

"Not that we know of."

Jack sighed again, "Really, I expected that. Still not a good thought though. At least some of them got out."

"Yeah," Mitchell nodded, "And the Ori won't get at them."

"Make sure they don't. Never liked the Tollan much back then, but they deserve better than being hunted down again."

"_Da_, no one deserves that."

Mitchell spun around at the Russian accented voice, getting a chuckle out of a dark-haired man, dressed in ODST armor. He stood taller than Cam himself, an MA5 rifle slung over his shoulder. Sharp gray eyes looked at the Colonel, clearly sizing him up. Cam didn't like that very much, staring right back, daring the man to say something. All he got was another chuckle...from Jack.

"Kamarov, lay off the kid. Mitchell, this is Grigori Kamarov, formerly of the Spetsnaz. He was my 2IC back on Earth for the Resistance at large."

"Nice to meet you," Cam said warily.

"Nice to meet you as well Colonel Mitchell," Kamarov finally stuck a hand out, Mitchell shaking it slowly, "I would say it is an honor to meet the man who replaced the General as head of SG-1. But I believe we are missing most of that team."

Jack nodded behind the other men, "Noticed that myself. I know Carter's off looking for the Furlings, and she probably took ole' Danny along with her. But what about Teal'c?"

That...that was a sore topic. O'Neill wasn't going to like the answer much.

"Big T's off with the Elite's," Cam answered, "They're training for a raid on Delmak...they might have already left."

O'Neill blinked, "_Delmak_? What could they want with that old rock? We slammed a Ha'tak into it you know. Anubis and Ba'al may have used it, but I doubt there's much of value left by now."

"There isn't. But the Ori are using it as a massive prison camp to reeducate stubborn Jaffa. Bra'tac and Teal'c got it in their heads that they needed to take those prisoners back, and conned the Elites into helping."

"Why didn't they come..."

"To us?" Cam wasn't psychic by any definition, but it wasn't exactly hard to guess what the question would be, "We're all stretched thin right now. The Elites just happen to have the most free ships...and they're a lot like the Jaffa when it comes down to it. All about honor and fighting."

"Yeah, that sound's like Teal'c all right. You sure they've already left?"

"No, not yet. They were preparing when _we_ left sir."

Which wasn't a lie. Planning a raid of this scale didn't happen overnight. It required a lot of time and effort to ensure that everything went according to plan. Or could be adjusted on the fly, like most SG-1 missions went. The Elites and Jaffa had been training together ever since the first request had been made, trying to adjust tactics to work together better. It was surprisingly easy to do so actually. The two warrior races meshed well together, aside from some lingering dislike on the part of the Covenant members, who saw Jaffa as the- mostly -humans they were. But there was no hostility from the Jaffa side of things, and that made it easier than it otherwise would have been.

Both were learning from the others, and it was rapidly forming a force that could slaughter anything the Ori threw at it. Which was saying something, considering the UNSC could already do that. But Jaffa equipped with Covenant weaponry and shields, and Elites integrated into their units...the image was _terrifying_. Good thing they were on the Resistance's side!

"Well, guess we just need to pick up speed here then," Jack nodded, "Odin! Get your asses into gear!"

_"Sir?"_

"I want this ship finished yesterday. Rip out the computer if you need to. I don't want Teal'c to go into this without us and the _Odyssey_."

_"Yes sir."_

Because Jack O'Neill wasn't about to leave one of his oldest friends to fight alone with just a bunch of formerly psycho aliens to help. No, it was _his_ job to work with the Jaffa.

* * *

**AN: We're done! :D**

**Sorry again for the delay everyone. I don't like being busy anymore than I like delaying these chapters...I really don't like it. :(**

**But hopefully I can get the next one out sooner. I'm crossing my fingers on that front. I hope everyone liked the chapter, even though it isn't my longest too. It is kinda-sorta filler after all, the _real_ big thing comes with the raid on Delmak next chapter!**

**And after that, we get back to Sam and friends for more Furling fun. :D**


End file.
